Today, that's not so much the case.Still, if you want to target S8 tenants, I'd find an area in the path of progress with great numbers.

Things have gotten progressively worse with the final straw being that he/his crew dumped sink/trash/rugs/mattress/furniture in the backyard, right next to the house, after renovating a unit.

Commuting from Brooklyn to Baltimore to check progress might be a bit much.

And always remember you do not have to lead the conversations.An easy trick is to join a conversation between two people already in progress and just listen.While they are talking smile a little and seem pleasant and just listen.Then when they are done, ask one of them a  question this way. 

Generally, a replacement property's excess basis (if any) is treated as newly acquired property and depreciated using the MACRS recovery period, depreciation method and convention allowed for that asset.  

There is still a lot of neglect in the neighborhood, but the numbers have improved over the last three years since we purchased.Would love to connect and stay up to date on your progress there.

Then I saw it pop up on Zillow for rent, so I assume there's progress, but again, I feel like this whole process is dragging.

You can take notes, add to notes, go back and read the progression of notes, etc.Dropbox. 

What they neglect to realize is that most of the run up was just recovery from 2008 and that some markets are only now reaching their 2006 peaks. 

This will allow you to pay the LOC back and increase your % ROI arbitrage as the years progress.