For educational purposes and future planning, is there a downside to having a large net operating loss carrying over into future years?

You aren't going to take someone to small claims court for damaged paint or anything, and if a major loss occurs the tenants are almost never collectable anyways. 

Is it even worth considering renting at a potential loss of HOA, also knowing home repairs could be needed in the future?

We started at 80k in car debt at the beginning of the year, re-evaluated, took a loss by selling one of the vehicles and paid down another.

(But it wasn't apples to apples.)I looked at AirDNA's data recently and don't disagree with their broad picture but again, people here know that the details and other factors can tell a different story and bring success for some in the same area (comparables) and loss for others.I'm all about reducing risk and my read on climate data and global economies (& yes, politics) incline me toward continued investment in properties that have multiple channels of revenue, above a certain latitude, and more upscale.

I would just cut my losses and move on.

With the cause of the loss probably being a hurricane I would make sure your hurricane/wind deductible isn't insanely high though as sometimes it is a percent of whatever the home coverage is.

Hopefully your insurance policy also compensates you for loss of use - where it continues to provide you your rental income.  

Dealing with problematic tenants, constant maintenance issues, and the pressure from family and friends who don't seem to understand your vision can make it all feel like an uphill battle.

I believe it tends to give me a slightly lower return, because the sponsor is going to be more careful, and if there is a severe downturn will prevent me from taking catastrophic losses.