As an investor in a few rental properties, I always hated depreciation. As a landlord, I also learned -- the hard way -- to despise deferred maintenance.

My animosity toward these two line items on every investor-landlord’s tax return welled up again at tax time last spring. I’d sold a rental property the year before, and now the depreciation I had claimed over the years came back to bite me.

As an investor, you have no choice but to claim depreciation every year you own an income-producing property. If you don’t, the IRS will impute it for you. So every year, I dutifully claimed the benefit, which helped cut my taxes.

Now that the house had been sold, Uncle Sam wanted back some of the depreciation I had written off. Legally, it’s called “recapture,” but many landlords disparagingly call it the “Gotcha Tax.”

I’ll tell you how it works, but first, this important warning: Please don’t take this as professional tax advice; it isn’t. For a better and more detailed explanation, consult a tax accountant. But here is my layman’s understanding of depreciation:

Depreciation is a tax write-off that allows landlords to recover the cost of their properties as well as the improvements made to them. It’s basically an allocation of the cost of the property to future periods.

Because your property has a useful life beyond one year, you can’t deduct the cost of buying and improving the house on a single tax return like you can the cost of maintenance, repairs, homeowner’s association fees and other expenses. Rather, you must “capitalize” and depreciate those costs over their useful life, which the IRS says is 27.5 years for a house or condo.

Consider a rental house that you buy for $200,000. Since you can’t depreciate land, you must separate the cost of the land from the purchase price. So if the lot in this example is worth, say, $50,000, you can depreciate only $150,000. But even at the lower figure, your annual deduction can be substantial.

In this example, you would divide $150,000 by 27.5 and come up with an annual deduction of $5,455. To calculate your actual tax savings, multiply your annual write-off by your marginal tax rate. So, if you are in the 25 percent bracket, you will realize a tax savings of $1,364 each year you own and operate the place as a rental.

There’s no doubt depreciation is a great tax benefit. But it sucks when you sell the place because, as most rookie investors don’t realize, you have to pay a good chunk of change back to the feds. The IRS charges a maximum of 25 percent recapture tax on all the depreciation you have written off to a maximum of your original cost. And the charge can be a painfully bitter pill to swallow.

In the above example, in the year you sell, you may owe as much as 25 percent of the $150,000 you paid for the house sans land. It could be less because you are selling in a tax bracket lower than 25 percent, or you might not have fully depreciated the property. Still, in this example of a fully depreciated rental unit, the tax bite works out to $37,500.

Ouch! And double ouch for deferred maintenance, which can destroy your finances without any help from the government.

To avoid this silent slayer of profit margins, you must make regular inspections of your rental property -- with notice, of course, to your tenants.

Don’t rely on tenants to notify you when a stove burner stops working, the toilet runs constantly or the kitchen faucet drips. Many tenants have no stake in their rentals, and others may be afraid you’ll blame them for the problem, so they tend to avoid reporting small issues. They’d rather just live with them, even if they’ll be held responsible for damages when they move out.

But small problems eventually turn into big ones; a landlord’s head-in-the-sand philosophy can become very expensive, very quickly. The failure to perform needed repairs could lead to property deterioration, higher costs, asset failure and even health and safety issues.

So it’s on you to stay on top of things by inspecting the structure, and all units, regularly. Here’s a rudimentary starter checklist.

Begin outside. Walk around the house in slowly tightening concentric circles, starting about 60 feet away. As you move closer, look for foundation problems, leaking shutoff valves, missing paint, holes, large cracks, damaged downspouts and areas where water is accumulating near the structure. As you get closer, check the soffits, doors, windows, screens and vents.

Inside, start in the basement or crawl space. Make sure there is no excessive moisture, and no critters squatting in the corner without paying rent. Check the pipes for leaks and be certain insulation is still in place. And test the stairs, decks and porches to be certain they are still safe.

Always check the HVAC system, and consider an annual service contract with your favorite local specialist. Always change the filters, even if they appear to be clean.

Finally, go into each room, looking for damage such as broken windows, screens or switch plates, torn carpeting or damaged flooring.

Nobody likes to pay alimony to an ex-spouse. Come Jan. 1, there will be one more reason to hate alimony.

Beginning next year, the payment to a former mate will no longer be tax-deductible on your federal return, just like child support is not a write-off.

Currently, alimony is a deduction for the payer, which is usually the former couple’s highest earner. And the recipient must declare the payment as income.

But under the Tax Cuts and Jobs Act, that rule goes away. As of the first of the year, alimony is neither deductible nor reportable. In other words, just like child support, the payment will not be visible on your tax return.

What impact this will have is anyone’s guess. But some experts believe that, because they cannot afford to live in different residences, the new rules may have the unintended consequence of slowing the divorce rate: keeping the no-longer-happy couple in the same home, but living separate lives.

Other possibilities: The spouse who wants to move out of the shared house may not be able to afford to, because he or she is losing the write-off. Or there might be a mad scramble to sign the divorce papers before the end of this year.

This change in the tax code is not retroactive. However, if there is an agreement existing prior to the end of this year and it is modified sometime in the future, the law says there will no longer be a deduction.

Please note: This is not intended to be legal advice, only a heads-up. Consult a tax professional or divorce attorney for more information.

Homeowners are staying in their places longer than ever, according to the Census Bureau, further exacerbating the inventory shortage of houses for sale in many markets.

Thirty years ago, sellers remained in place for a median of six years. But in 1997, the median increased to seven years, where it remained until 2008 -- the beginning of the housing meltdown and the Great Recession. Then, the median tenure started bumping up by a year every year. And the longer people stay in their homes, the less inventory is on the market.

The idea of saving for a 20 percent down payment is all but irrelevant today. Many lenders will clear would-be homebuyers who have as little as 3 percent of their own money to put down, as long as they have the income to support higher monthly payments.

Of course, it’s always advantageous to put down as much money as possible, because it will lessen your monthly mortgage outlay. But if you are aiming for 20 percent, you’re going to be a renter for a long time -- perhaps a full decade or more.

Based on a median national home value of $216,000, 20 percent down translates into $43,200. Consequently, a renter earning the median income won’t have enough for 20 percent for 77 months, or almost 6.5 years, according to research from HotPads, a rental-finder website.

But in 13 of the 35 largest metro areas, it could take more than a decade. And in the most expensive markets, such as Los Angeles, San Jose and San Diego, how does 22 years strike you?

The rental site also reports that members of Generation Z, who are just now entering their homebuying years, will spend about $226,000 on rent before they can become owners. That’s more than any other previous generation.

By comparison, millennials can expect to spend $202,000 on rent before buying -- a far cry from baby boomers, who paid landlords “only” $148,000 on rent before buying.

You can changes houses, but you can’t change your new neighborhood. And according to research from Trulia, more than a third of movers regret where they chose to move, and would change locations if they could take a mulligan.

Trulia found that 36 percent of recent homebuyers have “neighborhood regret.” That feeling is even greater in metropolitan areas, where, based on a sample of 1,000 families who moved within the last three years, almost half of all movers are dissatisfied with their choices.

Attributes that led to regret: noise, traffic and lack of public transit. On the other hand, traits that make a neighborhood suitable are its “vibe,” low crime rates and an easier commute to work.

If you are thinking about buying, check out where you want to go first, and then look for a house in those places. Look up neighborhood photos, search for the hot shopping and dining spots and visit your top choices. Once you settle on a location, contact an agent who is an expert in that local market.

The number of homes being built in communities operated by a homeowners’ association (HOA) is rising. But not all the folks who purchase those homes realize what they are getting themselves into.

Common-interest developments -- in which HOAs run the properties after builders sell out all their lots, houses or apartments -- are the country’s fastest-growing form of housing. And whether you like it or not, you must join your association upon purchasing such a home. You can’t opt out just because you don’t use the pool, tennis courts or other community amenities.

According to the Census Bureau, 61 percent of all new single-family houses completed last year were in HOA-run properties, up from 48 percent in 2010. The Community Associations Institute (CAI) says 69 million Americans now reside in such places.

These associations are created to sustain property values, maintain common areas and enforce the rules that govern their communities. Some associations ban owners from parking business vehicles on their driveways, for example. Some HOAs say you can’t park any kind of truck in their communities, even in your own garage.

Keep your garage doors closed, while you’re at it. Make sure your draperies are all the same color and material as your neighbors’. Plant flowers here, but not there, and only this kind of plant. Good luck putting in a window air conditioning unit. Thinking about replacing your roof with a lighter shingle, or painting your front door red? Think again.

Those, of course, are some of the strictest rules an HOA might put into effect. Most rules are fairly benign. According to CAI, a national sampling of HOA residents rated their associations as either positive (64 percent) or neutral (26 percent). Only 1 in 10 had grievances, mostly involving how their particular complaint was handled.

Most HOA rules are in place for good reason. But once in a while, you run into an overzealous volunteer board or paid management company, and that’s when the gloves can come off.

Here, gathered from numerous sources, are some of the most egregious offenders:

-- In Virginia, a 90-year-old Medal of Honor winner placed a flagpole in his front yard, only to be told that it wasn’t allowed. The HOA relented, but only after the issue went public and the veteran received support from members of Congress, the White House and the American Legion.

-- A California man was flagged for having too many rosebushes on his 4.5-acre property. A judge ruled that he was in violation of the community’s architectural design rules. He offered to scale back his plantings, but was still forced to pay the HOA’s $70,000 legal bill, and eventually lost his home to the bank.

-- “For Sale” signs are illegal in many communities. A Tennessee woman was forced to move her lawn sign to her window, even though the builder, still active in the neighborhood, had signs all over the place.

-- When a Florida resident couldn’t afford to re-sod his lawn because the cost of his adjustable-rate mortgage had jumped markedly, his HOA sued him. He lost, and when he ignored the court’s order, he was put in jail.

-- A wounded combat vet in Georgia was set to receive a newly built house, compliments of Homes for Our Troops, when his HOA balked because his slightly smaller house might have lowered property values for his neighbors.

-- One California condo doesn’t allow pets’ feet to touch the floor in any common space, so a 61-year-old resident who walked with a cane was forced to carry her spaniel through the lobby every day. When she could no longer do so, she was fined $25 every time, and was eventually forced to move.

Rabid HOAs don’t always win, though. In Florida, a man whose commercial vehicle didn’t fit inside his garage was nabbed for parking the truck on his driveway. The HOA took him to court, even though he had been parking in the driveway for years. He won, the HOA appealed and he won again. This fracas cost the HOA about $300,000.

A Virginia HOA bankrupted itself in a battle over political yard signs. During the four years the case dragged through the courts, the association boosted the HOA fee from $650 annually to $3,500 -- meaning everyone had to pay for their board being on the wrong side of an argument.

And in another case, the Department of Housing and Urban Development has charged a New Jersey condo association with discrimination after barring an elderly resident from using the front door with her service pet. The woman, who has severely limited hearing and sight, was required to use the service entry -- a violation of the Fair Housing Act, according to HUD.

The takeaway: Living in an HOA-led community is fine for some people, but it’s not for everyone. Before you buy, ask for a sit-down with a member of the association board to discuss how things are run. And look over the rules carefully to make sure you can live with them.