So options I see:Refinance and get your payment down so that it cash flows.Keep property at 0 cash flow while renting it and letting tenants pay off loan and having tax deductions and use the cash out money to put towards another property that does cash flow.How many years did you finance this house for and how many years would you refi for?

Do you know if the new tax laws have affected deducting the interest?

Essentially, once a new tenant is qualified, a new lease is signed, any repairs are made, and the new tenant moves in, only then would you terminate the existing lease (and return the security deposit after any deductions as appropriate) and stop collecting rent.

Something that we use to prevent disputes is an Itemized List of Common Deposit Deductions.

Living in a high income tax state, as well as a high property tax state and having an unfavorable limit on what state-level taxes you can deduct from your fed taxes affects *every* person living/owning a home in CA (investor or other), and makes leaving CA for lower tax states more appealing.

In apartments with carpeting the lease says the carpets will be professionally cleaned and the amount deducted from the security deposit along with any other deductions for damages. 

If you don't know or don't want to look into these criteria my quick and dirty answer is buy the rental nearest you and take the deduction in cash flow for a little security and peace of mind.

Many investors have a balanced portfolio of notes and rentals so that the rental tax deductions apply to the interest income, if done outside of a self directed IRA.

RE Pro status is only needed by landlords who have losses from rentals but cannot deduct theses losses - either because they have too much losses or too much income.To qualify for RE Pro, there're several requirements, including requirements to spend a lot of hours in real estate business (750 a year) and spend more hours in real estate than in non-real-estate pursuits (like a W2 job).

Paying off the properties and increasing that cash flow -- is that after increased taxes from reduced deductions?