As far as how you move forward from this, if you are confident in the area and acquiring a new tenant that will treat the property better, you can view this incident as a sunk cost and move on that way.

We purchased a property in early October and are placing it in service this week (mid November).We had intended to run a cost segregation study and try to accelerate depreciation which we can deduct against our W2 (assuming material participation).However, we have been reading through the IRS guidelines (eg publication 946 on Property Depreciation) and there seems to be the concept of "short year" which would mean that we can only deduct ~1.5/12 of a year's worth of depreciation in 2024.Is this correct or are there any different rules for STRs specifically?

You are treated as a "student" trying to gain "admission" to their program. 

Are you looking to buy property in Orange County?

Details2,819 SF, single family residence, 4 bedroom, 3 bath house, with a poolThe house is in a very desirable location.Market Value - $950,000Mortgage Balance - $226,137 (10 years left)Martgage Payment - $2,250/moInterest Rate – 3.5% Average Rental comps - $4,430/mo (looking at the comps I think it is above average)It certainly looks like it would cash flow, but that leaves buying a new house with a small downpayment and high interest rate.

I am new to this multifamily/commercial side of things.

Growing massively! 

I have kept track of all my expenses in an excel sheet/word document but feel like there may be a more organized and efficient method to tracking?

After getting a good amount of equity in the house for future HELOC funding, I was going to move out of it and use the property as a rental utilizing a lease option, or, rent to own agreement. 

Doesn't this hurt the tenants trying to move to a better location or larger home for their family?