But, I am considering buying a home 300+ miles from me that I can use as a vacation home for myself a few weeks a year and do short term rentals the rest of the year.Question: Can I get a second home/"vacation home" mortgage (10% down) when I don't have an existing first-home mortgage? 

(Max vacated rents - your monthly mortgage payment) = +/- net cashflow.

I've vacationed in OC all my life, and looked there too. 

The perfect way to have a vacation home that is paid for by guests!

We sent him notice to vacate but received no response.

I have a vacation home that has no mortgage and we are trying to pull out equity from it to purchase another property to use as a rental and vacation spot. 

Could get a policy with it as a second/vacation home, but expect I'd run into claims issues if BnB renters caused a problem.

This consistent influx of tourists can create steady demand for short-term rental properties, such as vacation homes and Airbnb units.Strong Rental Market: Many areas in Florida have strong rental markets, with high occupancy rates and increasing rental prices.

Meaning that a portion might not be able to be expensed if you're doubling the trip as a vacation, and it can't be anything extravagant (there's a lot of nuance with this).

I am trying to start doing short term vacation homes/rental properties.