It is an expense, but they keep it all legal and compliant.

The lot is paid off and deeded to our LLC, but lender will not do conventional loan to LLC for the remaining financing so we'd need to take out a loan in our personal names. 

She is not in a position to lend a personal loan to me. 

I set my rent standards a little high and realized that rent is actually not that high.. we have a morgage on it and it looks like the house is selling for more than we originally paid 4 years ago.

A quick look at VRBO shows over 300+ listings so there is competition.

Denver is very expensive for a new guy who doesn't have loads of capital so a market like Missouri for example is intriguing for far cheaper real estate but then Id either have to move, improve the property remotely or simply buy and hold as a rental for X time. 

My process is almost identical. 

My profile has my YouTube channel and I have an episode that shows you exactly how to create the comp set and look at amenities that matter, what others are paying for cleaning and how other listings look - that way you can see how to best market your property. 

Most any major metro area is going to have good demand for medium-term rentals.

And puffing ( again not saying he is puffing) is very common in RE.