Over the past 10 years, he and his late wife poured their hearts into building this home (with permits, of course).

Verifying last 2 years of rental history very important!

I am 19 years old Fresh out of Highschool. 

I grew up in Berea and lived there for 25 years. 

.- HVAC, the rule is that if it is working you may not have to replace it but count as a capex in the coming years.

This one will cash flow a little when we move out but it was a bit more of a long term play for us (5-10) years, so we need the time to make it worth it.

I have been studying whole sale real estate for about a year now.

Unless you are unknowledgable, my bet is you could make more from rent than sale, and still have the benefits of owning the original home while you go do something else.The 25K you have left in property will be netting you(gross) of $350 mo or 4200 per year.

I am starting real estate school soon to get my license but here in Florida I was told I can buy as an investor without. 

Just to present an alternative point of view regarding California residents investing in STRs, I'd say the gambit still works and works well.For one thing, you still get to use the Section 263(a) tangible property regulations' de minimis rules, which probably mean you can immediately expense most of the furniture and fixtures in your STR.For another thing, while for your California return you won't be able to use bonus or accelerated depreciation for the personal property, you will still use shorter 5-year and 7-year lives for maybe 25% of the improvements.But the big thing: The federal tax bill is far, far bigger.