It was denied due to there not being proper working smoke detectors in the property. 

But if the area is prone to winds, you could get some spray up on the house which will create a need for more maintenance.You need to make sure you have proper coverage for lake front property.

That being said, you definitely want to reduce your lifestyle at the moment and use all your income to attack the debt.

It will take a huge amount of work to upgrade the property which has not been properly maintained, so we'll be doing a lot of infrastructure rehab including adding HVAC/AC, upgrading the wiring, and bringing the old floors back to life.

10% is probably a little steep, and like John said, a flat fee may be more reasonable.Setting up a proper STR is not cheap, but once you are set up properly, you deal with routine breakage.I recommend managing yourself and saving the 20% personally, getting a rockstar cleaning team and a reliable handy person, using something like Hospitable that can help automate messaging when listing, and reading the book from the bookstore here called Short-Term Rental, Long-Term Wealth.

In this situation, it’s important to approach the tenant professionally and review the terms of the lease to make sure the rent increase was properly communicated and complies with local laws.

:Class A Properties:Cashflow vs Appreciation: Typically, 3-5 years for positive cashflow, but you get highest relative rent & value appreciation.Vacancy Est: Historically 10%, 5% the more recent norm.Tenant Pool: Majority will have FICO scores of 680+ (roughly 5% probability of default), zero evictions in last 7 years.Class B Properties:Cashflow vs Appreciation: Typically, decent amount of relative rent & value appreciation.Vacancy Est: Historically 10%, 5% should be applied only if proper research done to support.Tenant Pool: Majority will have FICO scores of 620-680 (around 10% probability of default), some blemishes, but should have no evictions in last 5 yearsClass C Properties:Cashflow vs Appreciation: Typically, high cashflow and at the lower end of relative rent & value appreciation.

If you are looking for ways to find people to network with, I would suggest joining a real estate investment club such as Lifestyle's Unlimited, they have over 55,000 members. 

Beside looking at the numbers think about your goals, time, energy, and lifestyle to manage any investment.

:Class A Properties:Cashflow vs Appreciation: Typically, 3-5 years for positive cashflow, but you get highest relative rent & value appreciation.Vacancy Est: Historically 10%, 5% the more recent norm.Tenant Pool: Majority will have FICO scores of 680+ (roughly 5% probability of default), zero evictions in last 7 years.Class B Properties:Cashflow vs Appreciation: Typically, decent amount of relative rent & value appreciation.Vacancy Est: Historically 10%, 5% should be applied only if proper research done to support.Tenant Pool: Majority will have FICO scores of 620-680 (around 10% probability of default), some blemishes, but should have no evictions in last 5 yearsClass C Properties:Cashflow vs Appreciation: Typically, high cashflow and at the lower end of relative rent & value appreciation.