We are wanting to get back to being self-employed but are at a loss for what steps to take next. 

Peninsula/area near Stanfordnow if you talk about san Jose , for each zip code I can give rating from class B to class D.Speaking of the area I can recommend some good food in each town lol.For me I'd rather classifying those town based on food, for best Korean I would pick Santa Clara or Concord.

It will cover the owners losses.

Among the major cities, San Antonio stands out with a 7.1 percent increase in home sales, but Houston, Austin, and Dallas all face notable losses.

I'd say it is a solid B class location 5 min driving to home depot, whole foods, publix, LA Fitness. 12 min driving to Surfside beach and Bal Harbor. 

The following looks at hypothetical purchases, anecdotally and in relative isolation, meaning there may be a reason (for instance to generate large tax losses for "active participation" investors to offset other income) for some individuals to undertake a particular kind of purchase.

To assess the viability of this deal, I utilized comparable property sales (comps) and projected potential cash flow through a profit and loss analysis (P&L).

I do not think there is anyone here who has not had a loss in some way or form. 

Gas, fast food, etc.   

What you cannot do is deduct the overall loss, of which depreciation is a component.