Income is $600,000 per year and husband and wife both work full-time non real estate jobs.Is it true that the tax benefits are greater, or realized more quickly, on purchases like furniture or televisions to itemize a rental property, when they are made AFTER the date the property is put in service?

I would go with the LVP but be sure to buy extra as these seem to have a very short manufacturing run and in 5 years you may not be able to find a match for repairs. 

Eventually you'll want one if you keep buying more rentals.

My partner and I used hard money to buy property and have about 180k in house so far.

Did you have an inspection done during the buying process?

When I got involved in notes I started with doing more deals - i was buying lower priced assets and choosing quantity over quality which was "risky" but I did very well and learned a ton.

So then basically you are buying the land for 400k, then demo (whatever that cost is) and the build new. 

Pay for your buy through normal loans, big bank loans, small loan options, or a mix of loan types.

As far as taxes go, selling it to you or on the MLS is still selling the property.If the owner includes it in their Trust, it can typically be inherited tax free if it is not sold.To buy the property, I would probably go for a lease option which is not counted as a sale, so no taxes are due.

I've been interested in buying property in Cle Elum and would probably do some sort of vacation rental.