Now the scary thing is I just heard is that they are thinking of eliminating this tax loop hole for investors. 

Its convenient for me because it eliminates the need for me to maintain the property, the tenant/buyer would have to take care of all repairs, and I have no debt.I can't owner finance an apartment complex, so theres a chance my phone will still ring because something inside the unit broke, and I won't be able to purchase many complexes cash, so I will have debt.

So, I can search specifically for shortsales or eliminate them from my search.

How I do it is through selective screening and I have been 100% successful.By instituting certain screening standards it will naturally eliminate the vast majority of non target applicants.For example young couples with children will generally have lower credit scores. 

It is certainly possible to combine a primary residence exclusion and a 1031 exchange to completely eliminate most and defer the rest of the tax.However in your case with only 1.5 years of depreciation it might make more sense financially to simply forgo the 1031 portion and pay the depreciation recapture.  

I will be moving home to my parents house for a few months to eliminate rent, and have begun to read about and study everything I can regarding real estate. 

It's those maniacs that buy homes cash via quit claim deed off of craigslist that really get screwed.Make sure your property manager is a licensed real estate brokerage.Understand you can not eliminate all risk, only mitigate it.

So you are looking to spend more dollars on your property when you have the lowest cash flow to eliminate payments at a time when you should see the highest cash flow.Let us know what you decide!

An IRA contribution can help mitigate the tax bite but not much.But I get your real issue - you are wanting to eliminate debt not increase the portfolio. 

What can I do to eliminate this inheritance tax?