A few other positive things:If you have a home office it creates authenticity with the IRS and can diminish potential push-back you could get by claiming the deduction.Using an EIN helps prevent identity theft - stealing an EIN happens, but isn't as common. 

I have struggled with this my whole life, and am kinda getting sick of this fear I have, so I've been taking steady steps to address it, i.e. developing small habits to push me in the direction of my goals, so I'm not as fearful when it comes time to pull the trigger.

I understand the Biggerpockets push and those are very useful but an alternative you can check out too (don't shoot the messenger) iswww.houseflippingspreadsheet.c...Again just providing options, please don't ban me!

And even MLS properties are usually Realtors PUSHING the Market.

@Gaege Root Thanks and nice to meet you!

At a high level, buying a home makes much more sense to me and building equity (that is $3K * 12 = 36K every year) than pushing rent money down the toilet using this simple logic. 

I am still not sure, so I am pushing the broker and underwriter on it.I am wondering if I haven’t been explaining the situation the best, so just for a recap...wife has an FHA loan in her name for an owner occupied Duplex.  

But we have to keep pushing!

That appraisal is likely already inflated - how far do you want to push it???

I would push back on your employer and see if they might be willing to cover all or even a portion of your out of pocket expenses if the expenses help you create revenue for the company.Let them know under the TCJA, you've effectively taken a pay cut as your unreimbursed employee expenses are non-deductible for all tax years before 2026.Other than that and going out on your own as discussed above, there's not too much you can do.