Getting the REPS status in order to truly leverage the benefits real estate paper losses offsetting your W2 earnings is something that takes very clear logging of approved activities proving your qualification every year.

I guess maybe, I could put less money down, so I could show a greater loss for this year?

Your profile mentions that you are a real estate agent - You want to have a conversation to see if you potentially are eligible to claim real estate professional status which would allow you to treat your rental losses as active instead of passive.Also have a conversation if you are required to make estimated tax payments since there is no withholding on your commissions.Lastly, your profile mentions you are in Florida which does not have a state income tax which opens you up to more options for choosing an accountant.

Discuss the Loss of Rents (aka Business Income) coverage with your agent.  

I guess the good news is I won't have to pay taxes bc LOSSES. 

Please keep in mind that unless you are a real estate professional or utilizing the short-term rental loophole strategy, you are creating passive losses that can only offset passive gains.

If you have lived in the property for more than 14 days or more than 10% of the rental days then yes, no rental losses are allowed (i.e. bonus depreciation).

While some syndications can return 15-20% I have also seen several in the past week turn a $50k investment into under $1,000 which equated to a 98% loss on capital.

At the new price, I believe it will sell in the next 30 to 60 days.I don't understand why the mortgage company would prefer to take a loss on a short sale instead of allowing me to defer a couple of payments in order to sell it and pay them back in full.Can anyone explain this and do you have any suggestions as to how I should proceed? 

If after the repairs were done, I would be asking my attorney if I can recover some of those costs.