I’m looking for advice or opinions from others who have struggled with this or have felt like this.

Let's keep this as simple as possible....Ex 1: 3 single-family rentals, value $300-400 each.

If so, how do I get around this or at least make it to where only the rental income from the property is taxable locally? 

What kind of area is this located in?

Others 15 yrs, etc.So we depreciate a portion of the asset costs faster.We do the study and get dollar amounts assigned to different parts and different schedules to front-load depreciation.Now you can get 5 or 6% of the value as a deduction in the early years...But wait... there's more.Bonus depreciation allows you to deduct a certain percentage of cost in the first year an asset is put into service.Anything that is on a schedule of 15 years or less...So the doors, sidewalks, HVAC, walls, latches, curbs, security, gates, etcA % of this stuff goes in Yr 1.For years 2015 through 2017, first-year bonus depreciation for these items was set at 50%.It was scheduled to go down to 40% in 2018 and 30% in 2019, 0% in 2020.But then the Tax Cuts and Jobs act moved this percentage to 100% from 2017 to 2022 and 80% in 2023 and 60% in 2024.Its not uncommon to allocate 30% of an asset cost to items that can be depreciated on a 15 year or faster time frame.So now 60% of that 30% of your asset's cost can be depreciated in the first year, excluding land.Pretty great.This is how real estate owners, investors, and operators make millions and pay very little in taxes compared to W2 employees.They pay even less and can offset other types of income if they are an RE Pro.

I've done this, and my credit score dropped tremendously (60+ points).  

You can occupy 1 room and rent out the rest for maximum cash flow but this comes with some inconvenience as you will have to deal with roommates and you don't have 100% privacy in your property.2.

(Ask this to confirm the answer to #3 above is correct.

It didn't ask should I do this.  

I'm new here and very happy to have found this platform.