Got through that part, now someone in the loss mitigation dept says a part of the short sale package is a listing agreement and something allowing them to talk with the realtor.

Bought a house mid 2015, did rehab work on it over several months, sold it in 2016 at a total loss of $25k or so.My question mostly is whether that loss can be depreciated or carried over several years, or has to be taken off only on my 2016 tax return.

If house isn't finished in xxx months then % off his split for loss of time.

If it works out you'll increase your cash on cash returns, if it doesn't you can soften the blow of losses by offsetting some of your taxable income from the LA asset that is likely to have greater appreciation upside. 

You want the nonpaying tenants out of there to stop your losses as soon as possible.

If it says, the cancellation is due to the loss, that is the important issue.  

The economy has no effect on my ability to carry the properties and a devaluation, provided I hold long term, is only a loss on paper.For myself I place a very high value on the opportunity value/cost of cash.

JL Crowder - If you're actively member managed, you can deduct any net losses from your real estate against active income (instead of only passive).

This is because North Carolina requires landlords to take reasonable steps to keep their losses to a minimum—or to “mitigate damages” in legal terms."

The loss of a parent is tough.