Purchase and rehab properties will have a similar reduction, but as long as you have experience within the US, you should still be able to get some pretty good terms.

I have it narrowed down to two agents, one has more general experience in the area and are part of a large organization.  

If I may, in your experience, is this difficult to accomplish with a HELOC already established?

The newest outdoor is still advertising 1st month free as they haven't filled up, and I spoke with the climate controlled owner/builder yesterday (he's a pretty big REI in the area), and he made it sound like he hadn't leased a single climate controlled unit since they opened a few weeks ago.I recently purchased a 140x45 warehouse with low ceilings and had debated doing self storage, but my market seems very saturated.

We're part of STR Secrets so if you've been checking out that group feel free to reach out!

In my experience, 75% of the time, the tax payer doesn't have a large enough liability to justify the accelerated depreciation anyhow- depending on your income and tax bill, it might not matter at all.

Free meetups and BiggerPockets forums are great for this.Cold Calling & Door Knocking – If you’re willing to hustle, contact absentee owners or landlords with vacant properties.

Just a heads up this will not be tax free, it will be a pro-rated exclusion.

What are other options do we have if we don't have piror experience? 

Either with kids and that additional stress.