Depreciation vs. Deduction. Did I miss out?

[Stephen Kupferschmid]

In December 2017, I purchased what I wanted to be my first rental property.  Bought and paid for it with $30k.  I have done all of the repairs myself, and intended on having it available for rent in the summer of 2018.  Well, here I am and still working on it.  I have put about$15k in repairs/updates to it so have almost $45k into it.  I now hope to have it rented Summer 2019.
My question is, would I have been better off renting it out for a couple months for real cheap since it was in rough condition (say $250/mo) and then started working on it so I could have deducted the expenses in the 2018 tax year?  Or am I better off just doing it as I have, and adding to my cost basis for depreciation.   I have also accumulated $3k worth of tools.

I'm also figuring the power of depreciation is not as great as deducting in the current year as depreciation recapture will take place in the event the house is sold down the road.  For what its worth, this situation assumes I am married, with no kids and have a household AGI of  $120k.  Thank you!