Yet most employers will lay someone off or fire them and not blink an eye - sounds risky to me. 

Account Closed, determining when you will break even should be a metric every investor keeps an eye on.

I go back to visit and put eyes on properties usually once a year.

Real Estate is always a good investment, although some experts have says on that, we don't handle the future the first step to do is continuous learning especially always keeping an eye on the risk

We clean it ourselves as well to keep an eye on it and keep costs down. 

Would we be automatically classified as real estate dealers in the eyes of the IRS for this one flip?

I’d like to keep it in NC or close to home to begin I think, just to keep eyes on things occasionally. 

My goal would be to make a higher return in the next 5-7 years, lock in current market prices, avoid some selling fees, and free up more cash right now for an opportunity that I have an eye on that looks more profitable.

Quote from @Victor Verano: Mid-term rentals are actually long-term rentals in the eyes of the law and should be treated the same.

@Bran Scott if you have not already done so I suggest get eyes on the property and see for yourself.