With Covid sometimes the City has been lax to move forward with enforcement and this could factor into your situation 

I know you can factor depreciation into taxes, but am I correct in thinking that shouldn’t be factored into cash flow calculations?

Of course your personal finances and debt to income/debt to assets ratio will be a factor but if the property is really solid that could help you to get a loan at a lower down payment amount. 

How do I factor in depreciation and all other advantages tax wise? 

Expenses to factor in are vacancy, CapEx (probably quite low), maintenance/repairs, PM, and insurance.

And I'm not going to start working as a sales clerk at Forever 21 which might pay a few cents more than minimum wage but since I have no experience in retail, I'd probably still start at minimum wage.I'd rather keep looking for work in corporate, government and the nonprofit sectors where I have years of experience and can expect a salary that factors in my experience.

If you are applying for a conventional mortgage the guideline states "A minimum history of 2 years of commission income is recommended; however, commission income that has been received for 12 to 24 months may be considered as acceptable income, as long as there are positive factors to reasonably offset the shorter income history"So less than 2 years is possible. 

The fact you aren't going to keep it, I don't think is a factor at all.

An aesthetically pleasing creative piece would be the last important factor.

Because even though lenders say that their rates are dictated by fix factors like credit score, some actually have some leeway on the rate, so they may not offer their best rate if they only have to beat another one.