Any activity yet?

If you are not taking in any rent you may consider this a second home and deduct mortgage interest and real estate taxes as if it was simply a second home.That would be why they cannot depreciate it.In some cases such as additional depreciation allowed on business(non-rental) assets you may take additional depreciation the first year.To summarize:They will not be able to depreciate it unless they are in a for profit activity.

The answer should really depend on your age and how easily you can generate cash from activities external to your real estate business.

That would mean tearing up the yard, the walls and ceilings to install it.I pointed out that the kids would be tripping the alarm all the time and activating the sprinkler system.

Once I retire (1.5 yrs) I can be more active but could use cash flow now and I am more bankable now with a job.David, I imagine I could do this myself but starting at ground zero requires lots of research.

I always go into the home at least once a quarter to let them know that I am an active landlord and to also check for real damage, change HVAC filters (Because tenants rarely do and it causes a huge bill) and water damage / prevention (Caulking).

There are 6 active listings at 200K or less in the entire zip code. 3 are in an awful development - not quite a "war zone", but definitely section 8.

Note: Most of our speakers are active BP contributors, and are the kind of people who want nothing more than to help us change the way this business works . . .

Bryan -The property management company is correct in that you do NOT need to issue them a Form 1099 unless your rental activities are being treated as a trade or business.

The LLC should NOT carry on any business activity for exactly the reason that Steven stated.