The reason as to why these projects stayed on the drawing board is because they weren't essential at the time.

Depreciation can create paper losses to offset rental income or passive income, and qualifying as a Real Estate Professional (REPS) or STR loophole can allow losses to offset W-2 income.This post does not create a CPA-Client relationship.

I have lost a lot of sleep over it, and am actually about to board a plane to head to Maui to stay in the unit for a few days.

You can compare both options and see which makes more sense with the rate you'd qualify for.

IF you cannot qualify for a full doc loan then a DSCR loan does NOT look at your returns.

@Nina Ning I do not play detective or require past rental payments to qualify for my units.

I am not qualified to say how it should be done.

It does not matter whether you are starting a real estate business, restaurant, car wash, or amazon commerce business - the lender will first look at you and your partner and how much skin you have in the game, your experience and the risk of the loan not getting paid. 

The best strategy depends on your goals, but here’s a breakdown:Selling outright would result in paying capital gains tax and depreciation recapture, but since the appreciation is minimal, the tax impact may be relatively low.Gifting the property to your son could potentially allow him to sell it with a lower tax rate, but since he hasn't used it as a primary residence, he won’t qualify for the exclusion of capital gains tax on a primary residence, and you'd need to account for gift tax implications.1031 exchange could defer taxes, but you would need to purchase a like-kind property of equal or greater value and meet all the IRS requirements.

There are so many misleading "gurus" and advice from others online - that don't make logical sense.Who do you think qualifies for an S8 voucher?