Quote from @Melanie Baldridge: It's really simple: increase earnings, reduce expenses, save, invest, and wait. 

You can deduct expenses like mortgage interest, property taxes, insurance, repairs, and maintenance costs from your rental income.The biggest advantage is depreciation—this allows you to deduct a portion of the property’s value (excluding land) over time, significantly reducing taxable rental income.

You deposit all your income into your loan/checking account and use expenses as needed and any remaining cash flow, sits in the loan thereby reducing interest cost and helps pay down mortgage faster.

Increase earnings, reduce expenses, save up, and buy one property.

Fortunately, we are in position that we can indefinitely absorb the reduced income that our STRs are producing.Good luck

Just imagine reducing your living expense, owning an asset, and having your tenants pay the bulk of the mortgage, then repeating this a few times over all while every year the rents go up.

As I'm in talks with the oil company that currently owns the land, what questions should I find out from them that would help reduce any surprises?

So far I have not taken money out of a tithe account when there are losses, but since I give tithe on net profit from all my properties, does it make sense to reduce current year's profits by prior year losses as much as the IRS allows and pay tithe on the net profit?

These expenses would lower your taxable income and further reduce your overall tax liability.

Just like anything in life.Once you have made the decision, this is what you want to do.You need to have tunnel vision on your goal.If your saving up for a down payment, work an extra job, side hustle, reduce expenses, whatever.Finding cash flowing properties is not hard to come by, your first property does not need to be perfect or give you the absolute best return; you need to acquire it as soon as possible to start the compounding effect.Hope that helps :) Lets get to work