How much lower depends on what time of year the home was completed- Usually can charge a much higher rent for new homes.

Adding taxes and insurance would be an even higher payment. 

Credit score- the higher the best. 760-780+ generally gets best pricing for investment property loans with most lenders.

But the more property you buy the higher the likelihood of being involved in a situation where asset protection above basic liability insurance can SAVE YOUR A_ _ !

Then sell it to them at a slightly higher price?

I have owned iand self managed all for 8 years.As for point 1, I agree there is a higher demand for Gatlinburg, but it isn't that high to be called ground zero.

I've seen where people add so many loan extensions with optional payment.Say 1k gives you a 1 or 2 year extension and this can be done 4 or so times.This agreement could be changed so many ways to make it work.You could offer a higher interest rate after 7 years to extend to 15 years.

If you flip your flooring upgrades and appliances will probably need to be of higher quality vs a rental.

This gets my mortgage payment barely at break even for LTR value, (could be negative cash flowing), and lowers to about a 6% CoC (with down payment, renov and furnishings' costs)About 1.5 pt lower than my goal and with an MAO $10K higher than I wanted.b.

However, if your goal is cash flow, it might be tougher because of the higher prices and lower RTP ratios.