I hope that helps. 

How do I reimburse them for supplies and labor in a way that is still tax deferred?

Our Tax Guy does our depreciation for us so not sure if that is available, but I DO know that he can glean the reports it gives to get all the info he needs.

My thinking- many ppl escape Florida now bc of taxes and insurance cost.

The seller is responsible for repairs and taxes. 

If I want to use the STR tax loophole, would living in a different state affect the advantage of the so called STR tax loophole, as long as I remain active in managing the property and fulfill the other requirements?

Hope this helps!

It depends on if you're an llc or not, it depends on what state you live in, it depends on if you're a single member llc or a multi member llc- ultimately the numbers flow on to your tax return- your 10:40.

Things to consider are self management, travel distance, property taxes, insurance, resource availability. 

In this case, they either have to make money elsewhere (hoping you have an old property that needs a lot of repairs) or they are going out of business.