[sammyg2]

Plus depreciation of the building over 26 years IIRC.
The land can appreciate but according to the IRS the value of the building structure goes down and you can claim that over time. Plus every single dollar you spend at home despot or where ever for the rental gets written off. I used to have a townhouse that I was renting out for negative $300 a month. It was upside down after the drop in prices in the early 1990s. When I finally sold it I discovered I had slightly less income after I eliminated the loss as my taxes went up more than the $300 a month. Of course that is dependent on your tax bracket.