@Anthony Finelli check your mortgage paperwork for the Truth-In-Lending form to find your APR.APR is your effective interest rate including interest, MIP and closing costs.If you can refinance the rental at a cheaper rate than the APR, then you should!

Does the contract include a monetary damages provision?

@John Zhang If your wife qualifies for Real Estate Professional Status (REPS) and materially participates in managing rental properties, there is no limit on the amount of rental losses, including depreciation, that can offset your W-2 income.

If they find out, then legally, contractually, they have grounds to retroactively void the policy and deny claims for *anything* it covers -- including losses totally unrelated to STR, like wildfire or a windstorm.  

Part of those cuts included the short-term rental tax loophole, a strategy real estate investors can use to help mitigate their rental income tax by offsetting earned income with real estate losses, and could be renewed or extended.  

I'm a new (soon-to-be) investor although I'm narrowing down my buy box including the market and strategy.

That is not including Bucks games/stadium concerts and events plus the Brewers.

I live in Charlotte and would prefer a multi-family investment property that is within a 3-4 hour drive so I'm considering areas that include: Charlotte, Raleigh / Research Triangle, Charleston, and Atlanta.

I would include your realtor in the conversation, at least when you're introducing yourself.

In your case, changing the property from a rental to your primary residence constitutes a change in use.The depreciation recapture will be calculated based on the fair market value of the building at the time of conversion, not including the land value.Since you're tearing down the existing structure, the entire amount of depreciation taken over the past two years will likely be recaptured, as the building's value at conversion will effectively be zero.The recaptured amount will be taxed as ordinary income, up to a maximum rate of 25% for residential rental property (Section 1250 property).