Still in the process of figuring out which one is the best option.

Some title/ certificate of occupancy issues can cost $10,000’s-6 figures to resolve.

I live in North Georgia and a few people have said the town in general has declined since the casino was built but I figured that would draw more interest and the numbers still look pretty good.

I never took a course and just figured it out as I went.

I would keep that low interest rate and the cash flow as a nice cushion to enjoy when times get rough.

I charge two months security deposit (roughly $3,850) per unit and have only once needed to deduct for anything other than a cleaning fee.

You want to figure out all of the permits you need at the start and apply for them all, get them, and then get to work. 

Someone I know bought a ranch to use as a short term rental property in 2021 for $1.7 million.Engineers did a virtual site visit, they were able to assign a value of $347,000 to either 5-7-15 year assets that were eligible for depreciation.In 2021, the bonus depreciation amount that you could take was 100%.This means that the owner could immediately deduct the full amount of eligible property in the year it was placed in service, rather than depreciating it over time.With that in mind, he took the full $347K deduction in his FIRST YEAR of ownership to offset taxable income from rentals.This was roughly ~20% of his purchase price.It was a big win for him.In 2024, the bonus depreciation rate is 60% so the calculation would be different.That said, you can still save and defer a ton.

$500,000 after taxes is likely close to $325,000(maybe more or maybe less).Assuming cash-flow from rentals is offset by depreciation, you would need $325,000 of annual cash-flow from the rentals.If you can get $200 / door / monthYou would need 135 doorsYou can work on this type of math to figure out how much rentals you need.Be mindful that rentals require some type of work.

Quote from @Mike Dymski: You'll figure it out.