So, Colorado vacation rentals will be taxed at something between the current residential tax rate of 6.7% and the commercial tax rate of 27.9%.

I am making notes of your contacts.

I have some good contacts for these things.

A lot of people tend to mingle these things when they talk about "break even" or "cap rate", but that leads to a lot of confusion.Let's use some real numbers which may be easier to understand. 

I bet the rate of Engineers going homeless is all but 0. 

Some areas still offer strong appreciation potential along with steady cash flow, and when working with trusted lenders, you can find competitive rates in places like Memphis, Little Rock, and Oklahoma City, which tend to perform well on both fronts.

Being that rates are up it's another way to offer exatly what you mentioned; the chance to own for a couple hundred bucks more than renting.Thoughts?

One other advantage is that many of the builders that I have worked with are able to incentivise the sale with interest rate buydowns that make the deal work.Best of luck moving forward. 

Last year, I purchased a SFH under market at 7.65% interest rate and did some rehab to up the value.

You can contact some local property managers and get a better idea of the rental market.