Are there some other ways I can offset the rental income so we do not have a big tax bill from the gains?

If they are struggling then money they spend in one area affects their ability to pay other bills like rent.

If you get a plumbing bill for $100, that $100 goes directly to the plumber. 

And that means YOU, me, WE paying the bill for what was in fair-share a CA person-made catastrophe via there idiotic actions. 

Where it gets interesting is that the house has 5 mailing addresses associated with it and the fire prevention bureau has on their records it is also a 5- unit house, and I am billed as such upon annual renewals/inspections.

For example a 25 y o applicant who has used credit minimally and has an unpaid bill of $50 in collections from when they switched phone carriers may have a low score, but the only negative on their credit is this one SMALL $50 debt.

And Fed funding means "bill all the rest of America for us". 

After 2 months going back and forth with them, they finally ended up paying 50% of the $9000 bill.

There are accountants who say that applies to the opportunity to discount sale and/or basis shift to further lower the tax bill.  

Since our legal billed were $36,000, we’re $100,000 ahead.