Honestly I hate to see posts where people draw a hard and fast line saying they would not get out of bed unless the deal generates at least $50K to $75K or more. 

2 - I am going to be moving out of my house in Nov, do I look for another rental that is possibly a little less money and just save as much as I can until I can afford a 20% down payment on a home?

You can easily wipe out any tax generated from depreciation recapture and have more savings going forward.Over a 15 year time frame, US house prices have roughly doubled. 

There are inexpensive ways to generate leads (door knocking, driving for dollars, handwritten letters in the mail).

We generate solid cash flow and our cap rate based on FMV is <3%.

This allowed us to place tenants quickly and begin generating cash flow almost immediately.

Or your could flip it to generate cash for #1 above.Here's BuyBox questions to help you decide what you can do:Motivation for Investing: _____________Risk Tolerance: HighMediumLowType of Investing:Wholesaling - How are you going to find motivated sellers willing to sell for LESS than market value?

Quote from @Mark Miles: Quote from @Renee Adams: I’d love to get some honest takes from the community on this.Real estate is sold as passive income, generational wealth, financial freedom.

So from a pure tax deduction standpoint, nothing changes by simply moving the title to an LLC.Here’s what does matter for tax purposes:Your ability to use losses: Even if the property is generating a paper loss (thanks to depreciation, repairs, etc.), you're often limited to $25,000 of passive losses per year—and that phases out completely if your modified adjusted gross income (MAGI) exceeds $150,000.Real Estate Professional Status (REPS) or the STR Loophole: To use rental losses to offset W-2 or other active income, you must either:Qualify as a Real Estate Professional (750+ hours, primarily in real estate) and materially participate in the property.Or, if it's a short-term rental (average stay under 7 days), materially participate (100+ hours and more than anyone else) to convert it from passive to non-passive—even without REPS.Standard deduction vs. itemizing: You mentioned your CPA said deductions didn’t help due to the standard deduction.

I can only think they have figured out how to generate leads online elsewhere.