I guess what I really should say is that these are the areas I am currently looking in and considering for future purposes.

This is also subject to the loan product or loan program, for instance, a no income verification loan requires no verification of the income stated on the 1003 so no W-2 or tax forms are needed to be collected for that purpose.

Go talk to an REI guy and he will tell you how well they do things compared to the big guys.

I'd say rents are good compared to purchase prices here in Houston, although I do not have direct experience in other markets.

For all practical purposes, there are three grades: A, B, and F.

My original intent was a flip but as the work was being done (I did a lot myself but did hire out the roof and windows as it was cheaper compared to my time value) I had an offer to rent at $70/m more than I originally estimated.

I have a real estate background and created massive spreadsheets with comparable sales, assessed value, market trend analysis, etc. to valuate a potential real estate property.

What method is best used to separate the cost of the house from the land for tax purposes?

I am happy that I have some funds to work with for marketing purposes and joining the local REIA to gather more info

When you find a prospective property, you will want to go over the profit and loss statement with a fine tooth comb and compare it with typical investment property figures.