Since you won't have ≥20% equity you will still pay PMI, which you still are paying insurance and taxes even once paid off. 

Can anyone recommend a reputable source of online information to find out a property's market value, taxes, liens, owners.  

I sent the marketing piece to the address listed in the tax records but apparently this address is incorrect.  

I am thinking that i should be able to take advantage of both in the form of ROTH and using after tax dollars and thereby allowing me to take advantage of compounding effect of tax free growth.  

I live on the island too and wanted to get some rentals, but what keeps me back is the high taxes on the island. if you dont mind saying what towns do you have rentals in?

If you just want to pay self employment taxes and waste money so you won't have a gap on your w2 and/or to qualify you better.

Maybe if you have a massive income that you need tax writeoffs for, or something along the lines of that, then perhaps you might want to set a deadline to buy something within the next 90 days.Also, have you built before?

Unless you want tax consequences, don't touch the 401K.

I maintain utilities on this property and I'm curious if this is an expense, along with my PM fees, that I can write off for this tax year? 

I work with a local CPA for taxes.