To further explain Jay's point... let's say you put a new roof on a house and are straight line depreciating it at 27.5 years. 

I hear these type of offers all the time and either straight up say no or reject their application.  

Hi Kevin,There is a difference between buying all cash for a straight return and then leveraging.Getting over a 10% overall return while being passive can be doable.

People really need to beware of the self interest, and often straight out lying and exaggerated claims that some of these personal FIRE financial bloggers make.

Can I buy it straight from the owner?

I bought a triplex from my family in September of last year...hope to have that paid off the summer of 2020....but I have a buddy who is just finishing up a brand new duplex he built...block foundation..siding 2 bed one bath...1100 sqft per unit.... everything new.....he wants 100 a sqft...so it would be 220000 for the place...he's going to rent it out a year before he sells it...he said hes hoping to get 650 a unit....1300 total per month for rent...my triplex will pay itself off with the rent going straight to my mortgage and me having to have cash at the end of the year to pay taxes and all the stuff ( which is no problem)....just wanted to see what everyone says about this duplex and if I should go after it....it's not even close using the 1 percent rule..thanks for your response

After that it’s straight profit.

I had my driveway done from gravel to asphalt last year and it cost me $5k (one layer) for probably what amounted to paving 65yds straight would cost as my driveway is about 120ft long and has a wide parking area at the end.

If that doesn't work for you then think about a straight refi on the property that has the HELOC and just capture the cash that way. 

I would think so too if my friend didn't set me straight.