Later, I emailed them asking if they could improve how they match credit card payments and not only did they agree that it was a good suggestion...they implemented it THE SAME DAY that I emailed.

This way, your rental income supports your next purchase, and you don’t need to save as much for down payments.Financing: Focus on improving your credit and saving for future down payments.

Gardening maintenance is deductible as it’s not an improvement.

Then make improvements to force appreciation.Many people want to buy turnkey especially in the STR market. 

Hi, I just want to understand if I bought a property (quad) and received rent while I started the capital improvements .. can I deduct the expenses of the rehab still?

In your case, since the roof replacement constitutes a substantial improvement to the property, it could warrant consideration for a partial disposition.

In fact, the market had improved by the spring of 2024.

This is not a "real estate rental income" activity as defined by the IRS, so whether you are a REP or not, you can take this benefit.All of this is separate from a QOZ Investment, which would require you to first recognize a capital gain from another source (say a stock sale), invest that gain, hold it in a Corporate or Partnership structure (likely partnership), meeting the substantial improvement qualifications of being a QOZB, and then yes, you get to avoid the depreciation recapture at the end of the 10 year hold period, at least for the portion of your investment attributable to the original gain that you invested in the project. 

The list price was 160,000 with no improvements.

People have talked about improving the photos, and that's absolutely something you need to do.