If I sell it now, I'm paying ST capital gains rates which is at my ordinary income rate of 22% (approx. 20K).

Assuming by seller financed you mean a deed transfer with seller taking back a note/mortgage (as opposed to a contract for deed), it would be out of the ordinary to have such a restriction. 

I do 300 refundable pet deposit for up to 2 animals, assuming nothing out of the ordinary.

If you're paying 30% taxes, then you are most likely earning over $150k, which is the threshold in which you can no longer offset of those aforementioned losses against your ordinary W-2 income in the current tax year.

All investors are in it until the property is sold in the ordinary course. 

In a traditional IRA that is fully tax deferred, all distributions are taxed as ordinary income based on fair market value. 

@Ashish AcharyaSo we pay tax on the fmv of the asset as it’s phased out as a distribution/ordinary income

These deductions apply to mortgage interest, property taxes, operating expenses, depreciation, and/or repairs.Landlords can deduct the ordinary and necessary expenses for managing, conserving, and maintaining their rental property.

@Chelsea Ziss As mentioned, you need a cpa”s advice going forward.But...1) do not put the rentals in the S Corp.2) it Could be beneficial to do your flips, depending on how much you make per year with flips, in the S Corp3) your flip profits are not capital gains, they are ordinary income and just like your commission 1099 income, subject to 15.3% ss/med self employment tax. 

If you had identified the property, the cost, the travel cost would be added to the basis of the property and depreciated.These initial investigatory costs are treated differently for flipping and rentals1) Flipping: the travel cost to investigate will be treated as a business cost and deducted as an ordinary travel cost.