I bought a unique property in LA a little over a year ago with the intent to Airbnb it, only to find out that it is 100% illegal to do short term rentals.

I've read here that we'll probably have to explore different investment options to find out niche.

We are told to go to college and spend hundreds of thousands of dollars for a 4 yr degree that teaches general knowledge, and then you have to explore additional $$ for an "advanced" degree.  

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

I would like to explore some Crowdfunding programs that may be the right fit for us.Thanks in advanceSerena

If I think they are a fit, I explore the pay stub, credit report, eviction, ... etc

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.