It's my understanding that if your current $1.2M single family home is an investment property, not your personal residence, then it's eligible for a 1031 exchange for any real estate investment -- residential, commercial, even a vacant lot that you plan on developing -- as long as you take the proper steps like using qualified intermediary, declaring the properties and closing on them within the required time frame. 

We have some real estate for which we try to increase our deductions but I work a lot of overtime as an ER nurse so that I can save in order to invest in real estate and make ends meet in our high cost of living in Hawaii.

@Robin CornacchioAs others mentioned, there are fees to establish and maintain a Solo 401k which provides for checkbook control, real estate investing, etc.Of course, the threshold considerations are whether (i) you are eligible (i.e. self-employed with no full-time w-2 employees) and (ii) retirement funds in an account that you can rollover (i.e. former employer plan and/or non-Roth IRA that is invested in investments that can be liquidated an acceptable cost).Assuming that you cross these threshold issues, here are some additional comments/considerations:1.

I am eligible to utilize a VA loan for financing on another place in about two years.

We put $2,000 deductibles into our agreements  for major capex and do no routine maintenance of the property. 

Hey BP, I recently bought a book titled “every landlords tax deduction guide“ from a local thrift store, after bringing it home I noticed the book is the 12th edition from 2016.

Hello,I bought a property in 2017, which is 'grandfathered' in to the limit on interest deduction. 

Should I deduct from the deposit minor repairs to the sheetrock from screws, tv mount, and nails?

They get all the tax benefits ( depreciation & interest deduction).

An investment in a bad neighborhood will not make it a great investment just because it is eligible for Opportunity Zone tax incentives.