Main questions would be, how long have you owned this and is there any rental income reporting on your most recent return.

That being said the main issue with leverage is being over leveraged.

Principle pay down and appreciation are the main drivers behind my strategy, and I focus more on IRR instead of cash flow.

Keep the main structure but open it up for shelving. 

I am experiencing similar issues with time of year being the main culprit.

I'm not sure if we can like to articles on our own websites here, so to be safe I'll just suggest the IRS web page, which does do a pretty good job of explaining the basics: https://www.irs.gov/taxtopics/tc510The main thing to know if you're going to claim business miles is that you do need to keep a log of every business trip. 

Real estate investing is a team sport and at different points in the game different players will play more important roles.

However, you will find it difficult being that both of you are W-2 with your main activity to produce income being outside the real estate profession.

I am located in Maine and have 2 six unit buildings, 2 four units, and a 5 unit. 

Most (virtually all) are giving values below the main ppsf.