I'm on Lane Kawaoka's e-mail list and I always think about striking out for something, but wondering if its worth it or if it can turn into a house of cards...

You can deduct a portion of expenses like mortgage interest, property taxes, insurance, utilities, and maintenance that relate to the rented area, and you’ll report the income on Schedule E.

Depreciation on Schedule E is a non cash expense that gets added back for DTI.

The idea that Any real estate that has normal cash flow type debt I E 70% LTV loan is immune from owner being wiped out is simply NOT TRUE..

That said, I’d recommend setting everything to autopay from your business account and opting for e-bills instead of relying on USPS mail.

If you work out fair pricing for O&E (owner and encumbrance) reports that should give you all you need.

@Benjamin E Salas, to be clear, neither Sue's specific agreement, nor the fund's larger agreements are not publicly available.  

You can even market your rental by generating a professional listing and pushing it out through Zillow’s network, which saves a lot of manual work.A couple of things I’ve found helpful as a beginner:Tenant applications & screening – You can upload your own rental application if you have specific questions you want answered, and screening integrates right into the process.Leases – The platform lets you build state-specific leases with e-signatures.Payments – Rent collection is streamlined and connects directly to your bank.Maintenance – Tenants can submit requests online with photo attachments.The nice part is that it’s designed to be simple enough for one or two units but still robust enough to grow with you if you scale up.If you want to test it, you can set up a free account and see if it feels more intuitive than Avail.

Here’s what I tell BP investors to look for:Middle-market pricing exists: $900–$1,800 for a W-2 + 1–2 rentals is reasonable when it includes proper schedules (E, 4562/Depreciation, 8582 passive losses, 6198 at-risk, state returns, and a quick QBID/199A check).Unbundle strategy: Keep the return flat-fee and add advisory hourly ($250- $350/hr) or a one-time “strategy-lite” review ($500–$1,200) for STR/material participation, grouping, and when a cost seg actually pencils.If you want, e-mail me your facts (units, rents, W-2/K-1, state) and I’ll tell you exactly what tier you should be quoted—and what to skip. 

They should be able to send in format that easily corresponds to Schedule E of your tax return.For our clients (we're a PMC), we send them a 1099 and Annual Owner Statement which they can just hand to their tax professional.