As a matter of fact, you might be losing future depreciation by accelerating it now. 

@Guifre Morai am searching for a HELOC or refi so I have some capital to take advantage of any future deals, sounds like HELOCs have been frozen, anyone have any info.

However, for future purchases as investments or otherwise, as a Realtor, I never take a commission on my purchases.For one, I don't want to pay taxes on it or split it with my brokerage. 

Deflates property values.....interesting future.

This would apply to your unit.Your biggest concern with setting the rent should be the near future. 1) Your insurance is guaranteed to go up, probably dramatically.  2) You may get an insurance assessment bill to cover the CA Fair Plan losses.

Originally from Africa, I’ve embraced new opportunities to build a better future, and real estate is at the core of my financial freedom plan. 

One time I had a guest smoke and it went right up the ducts into my unit, it was awful.I'm conscious about how that could potentially affect guests who will be staying in the upper unit in the future.

Having a co-signer doesn't feel like that at first, but you can't predict the future.

Selling at FMV avoids the gift tax but provides your child with a higher tax basis, reducing their future capital gains liability.A better strategy for selling below FMV is to sell the house at FMV on an installment note, then forgive interest and principal annually up to the gift tax exclusion amount.

We don't have kids (might in the future), my husband and I are young and healthy, have stable high-income full-time jobs, and just put in a lot of work to both properties so don't expect huge expenses in the near future.