With only 30k, your reserves could be eaten up very quickly.

The easiest way is to bring on a partner who has a lof of capital they are looking to deploy, but I always encourage having sufficient reserves.  

., $100k-$200k) for reserves, renovations, and future opportunities like syndications or funds.

We have seen a huge bump in reservations since the amenity upgrade.https://airbnb.com/h/stoic

I'm looking for advice and input on whether our initial strategy idea seems sound--We have up to $400k cash to invest in a property (this is aside from other cash reserves that we want to keep on the side).

Some lenders may want to see 6 months reserves on top of closing costs and downpayment. 6.

Perhaps, using the first name on the lease would reserve the funds for that lease.

You have some money, and it is wise to have cash reserves available as well as the down payment and closing costs. 

You can find a house hack locally but you need reserves and savings.

Thrift stores are great for interesting framed pieces or even just nice frames and then order your own prints for them off Etsy.