For instance, while it can bolster initial cash flow by reducing tax liability, it could diminish deductions in subsequent years (when the property might produce better cashflow), impacting overall tax footprint, so you need to take into account all that in the context of your short term and long term tax strategy (e.g. if you plan on selling soon, at which time the depreciation gets recovered, or not and planning to hold for a long term/forever/1031, buying more later and creating more depreciation to offset cashflow or not, etc.).The alternative is a do-it-yourself (DIY) or survey option, which costs around $400 to $500 per property (I can do my CSS report in 10min, once I have all the data needed).

Many individuals use as a Plan B in the identification process;  upon exit, they might find something else to exchange into.

In the meantime, let me reassure you, I'm not about to plan a holiday in Juarez.

I say new bc recently I regained a huge passion for real estate even though it had always been the end goal plan.

I'm currently living in Boston, but plan on moving back to the Pittsburgh area in the next month.

@Bruce Woodruff I'm considering acting as GC on my own flips (mostly cosmetic) and plan to hire insured 1099 subs to do the majority of the work.

That will destroy refi plans.

Part of our plan is that our property in Maine is on 5 acres.

They carry forward but would be much stronger from a tax planning perspective if they were used to offset active income. 

Hey Chris, house hacking is one of the most popular strategies you can take and it can be a great way to build wealth and generate passive income, but it's important to have a long-term plan in place.