For anyone who is interested – found the following. Looks like the IRS is onto my ploy and is one step ahead (emphasis is mine)… no dice:

“… law allows a deduction for a loss from the sale of a personal residence that has been converted to rental property. But it limits the amount of the write-off. No deduction for any drop in value before you begin to rent.

The starting point is the property’s (1) adjusted basis at the time of conversion or (2) fair market value at the time of conversion, whichever is lower.”