I inherited land from my parents that they had leased, and on which an early tenant constructed a motel. The lease and motel were assigned to, and operated by, a succession of lessees. Neither my parents nor I had any control over the motel, its upkeep or its operation. In late 2014 or early 2015 the City condemned and ordered demolished the motel, effectively terminating the lease prematurely before its contractual termination date in June 2015. The last assignee/lessee/motel operator then abandoned the lease, the motel, and its operation, having paid no rent since 2014. The net result of this left me owning a motel that neither I nor anyone in my family built, operated or controlled in any way. I claimed a business loss for 2015 for legal fees, insurance, minor repairs, etc., totaling $18,465, but was limited to a $9917 deduction. Now for 2016 I want to claim the $8548 carryover, but TurboTax says I can't do this since I had no income from this property in 2016.
