@Zack Karp I was under the impression that the occupancy requirement of 1 year would still apply and would prevent you from refinancing into an investment loan until after the first year

I'm using an older version of Quicken, so my comment may not apply. 

I've already applied for the contractor license, but thanks for your feedback and judgements.

This also applies for the leases that are signed but have not started yet. 

This requirement will not apply to taxable years beginning prior to January 1, 2019.Curious if other self managing investors have been taking this deduction?

I think that this post can be taken very much out of context if not applied to the right market.

Under the Dodd-Frank Act, if the loan will be secured by a property that the borrower will use for residential purposes, then the person who makes or arranges the loan would be defined as a “loan originator,” and must have a mortgage originator license.However, Dodd-Frank doesn’t apply to non-consumer buyers, so (for example) if you want to loan money to an investor who will borrow under their LLC to flip a house then you’d be exempt from the mortgage originator license requirement of Dodd-Frank.But since you’re in California, there are state laws that apply.

When applying for loan for new construction, I have to provide a take off (estimate), with soft cost and hard cost, with a set of plans.

Be sure to find out whether those fees would apply in your case, since they're not yet included in your numbers.I don't see any budget for vacancy, cap-ex, or repairs. 

You could apply kilz on the shared wall and see if that helps.