I’m not from the US and currently live in Europe most of the time.I’ve found some apartments that could work well for my needs—I plan to rent them out on Airbnb and reserve a few nights for myself when I travel there for work.My question is: apart from the purchase price (I’ve seen listings on Zillow averaging around $150k in areas like downtown Dallas, Old East, and Plano), what other costs should I expect—both during the acquisition and in monthly payments?

Question is, if I have the means to put a high enough down payment on a house to be cash flow positive (assuming my expense estimates are accurate, etc.) is that something that I should do?  

Not plus 40k.  40k down payment. 

I like the one that requires payments to be deposited in an escrow account:New York state law requires that consumers receive a written contract for home-improvement work that exceeds $500.

I'm basically looking for input in the following:Option 1: Buy a couple of properties and split the money from the 1031 exchange for the down payments.

Quote from @Lionel Quiambao:  ... and maybe throw in the option for the tenant for more speed at an increased rent to cover the additional payment. 

Would you buy 5 houses in Clarksville, which rent for less than your mortgage payment? 

The only things that matter are credit, down payment, reserves, and DSCR ratio! 

(Close on the payment calculation!

S8 will include utilities in the rent payments to the landlord, BUT ONLY UP TO A CERTAIN AMOUNT.