Now neither I or my mother need the extra income these properties would generate right now.

What lead you to build them straight out? 

a "finder's fee" for referring clients, or providing 'leads' or 'lists' compiled from the MLS.

You were not able to take any of the losses because your income was above $150,000.in 2017 - you have 7,000 of suspended losses and $1000 of loss generated in 2017.You sell the property for $125,000 and your adjusted basis is 78,400(21,600 of accumulated depreciation).You calculate 46,600 of gain but you are entitled to report the $8000 of losses on schedule E.Let me know if you have any questions.

When a seller is upside down and facing foreclosure 99%+ of the time the leads is dead in the water.

The house is occasionally used for church Bible Study Meetings (the son leads a church in the area).The house has been "in limbo" for a while and my father-in-law is trying to figure out if he needs to do a 1031 Exchange in order to reinvest the money in a rental investment strategy.The house is paid off and is worth over $500,000 and it is located in West Covina, CA

I have a question that I am hoping someone can answer- Why do some people advocate that you never pay a loan down because a loan is a wealth generator?

It usually stimulates their curiosity, and usually leads to their next question. 

Hi Matt, As long as you are pricing your property fairly, marketing on all the large sites, and have a detailed property description and professional looking photos that will catch renters eyes, you should have no problem getting leads. 

But I realized that is a good thing .. because that turned out to be the best move of my life and lead me to the point I am at now.I hope to build genuine connections, build relationships, and expand my knowledge on Bigger Pockets.