If you're looking at 5+ units, you want to compare across cap rates (NOI / purchase price) and opportunities to add value, increase rents, and decrease expenses. 

Affordable Housing Incentives - The city of Oakland will reduce set back requirements to build on a lot, and actually increased the number of permitted units above the zoning limits if you build a certain % of affordable housing units into the building, and commit to keeping the rental units in a program like section 8 for 55 years ( see here).

He will have strong rental cashflow and substantial equity gain from the forced appreciation as well as neighborhood growth and increased demand.

Happy to offer advice/ share experiences as well as looking to broaden my own knowledge base and increase my portfolio. looking foreword to making new connections and possibly even a deal or two.

Right now we have $160,000 and rising cash flow, not to mention we are exponentially increasing the value of these apartment complexes the Multifamily Millions way by David Lindahl. 

I'm worried this will cause a large "increase" in income for 2017 and a large "loss/deduction" in 2018.

@Lane Kawaoka Overall, this is a stable rental market with slow rent increases (lots of supply).

My personal residence has increased in price in the last few years and you probably know this doesn't occur often in Japan.

Your IRA makes money from that property's rental proceeds as well as the possibility of appreciation instead of stock or mutual fund dividends and increases in value.  

When you buy an apartment complex you look for ways to increase that NOI which in turn increases the value of the property  (AKA forced appreciation).