@Marcus Welson I am not a CPA nor accountant but i think it is pretty clear as already said you can't deduct a loss of more than you Basis (cost) to acquire the asset. 

Lots might have good profit, but when you split those in half, and take some risk into account you can see why we shoot for the best.

My good buddy Account Closed can definitely help you with this process!

When the transaction closes, the purchase is funded, and we set aside additional funds in an escrow account to pay predetermined professionals to make any required or desired repairs or upgrades to a property AFTER the buyers settle on the purchase transaction.

There are several flags here since they have been deceiving you on a couple of accounts.

. - We have about 1 million in our 401K, 403b, and other retirement accounts (95% Vanguard index funds). 

I do not personally account for deprecation when running numbers. 

(would a brokerage account be a good idea?)

Yeah if we had a re-do button perhaps we would have skipped this last purchase or done more due-diligence prior to the purchase.But very happy with our other properties.....Hi Account Closed - Where is your STR located ?

I agree with @Joe Villeneuve.Real estate investing requires a certain set of service providers (RE agent, PM, lawyer, accountant, bookkeeper, contractor, sub contractors, handyman, etc).