Finally, not sure how you're factoring Depreciation, but combined with all of your Expenses deductions, you're not going to pay any taxes, at least not initially. 

I am thinking combining all 3 of my fourplex into one LLC.

And, yes, insurance appears on IRS Form Schedule E:I, of course, and not a tax professional, and am not up to speed about what might be unique to your particular situation that prevents being able to write these things off.But you might want to consider hiring a better tax guy, if you're being told that you "can't ever" write off property taxes!

what are some unique was you started out in real estate investing with little money.... please share

It used to be 2 condos which are now combined in 1.

Most investor lines of credit will limit their Line to you based on a 80% Combined Loan to value (meaning adding the first lien and the 2nd lien together).  

Joe Fairless has quickly scaled to $100M+ in assets under management and has utilized unique methods to establish credibility and raise several millions from investors for his apartment syndications.  

It was a very unique situation where the home had been foreclosed on, but the tenant had a ten year lease, which the courts held up! 

Others may have additional information, but my guess is that every property is going to be unique.

It would take a while to get to the point where it is going to generate 3k per month, but it is possible.If you are pre retirement age, then you wouldn't want to invest with the intention of using the earnings to fund current living expenses.There are many avenues and it may take a combination of different ones to reach your goals.You could also consider partnering with one or more other people so that you are not coming up with all of your own money to fund your deals.Good luck on your journey!