Find you an agent with a team behind him of solid general contractors, lenders, and property managers as well as other necessary contacts that will make navigating the best neighborhoods for solid rentals that will help you achieve what your looking for (Under $180K for SFH and/or a duplex, cashflow, and $1500 - $2000 in monthly rent) Here is one extra bonus to add into the mix for your criteria..

@Peter Mckernan This is a great well-rounded perspective, Real estate is one of those fields where no two deals or markets are exactly the same.

We've saved about $40k so far but with bonuses at the end of this year from our jobs we should be over $50k very soon.

They also did not know that their SS mangers were kiting $5K per month of rents so the rent roll made no sense and I got the bonus of the missing $$'s. 

Option 3: Find a better investment at this time.Stop thinking of yourself as a real estate investor and start thinking of yourself as a well rounded investor.Pay off your mortgage: Your money is not working for you when you spend it on liabilities like a personal residence.Buy Rentals with little/no cash flow: You are speculating what a rental will be worth in 20-30 years.

I am not sure of the STR rules for that, but I know SLC has not rounded the Western states curve yet and caught up to Oregon, Cali, and Washington. 

Would I be eligible to take the bonus depreciation on my 2024 taxes?

New administration.As of now, 2024 bonus depreciation rate is 60%.

A good real estate accountant can save you thousands of dollars by leveraging entity selection and formation, tax deductions, cost segregations, bonus depreciation and tax planning.I recommend finding an accountant who specializes in real estate taxation, business taxation, financial planning and tax planning.You may want to consider working with your accountant remotely to expand your options.I would also recommend looking for a accountant willing to work with you throughout the year.

It is very hard to find deals that can cash flow and generate a cash bonus in todays market with the current rents.To give you perspective: I bought a home for 200k or so, renovating for another 240k.