Kelly, you have many options.

If you want to change something, do an update, or another post clarifying your position or changes, etc. 

Since graduating in 2021, I moved to Washington, DC to pursue a civil engineering career and am now feeling like I am in more of a position to start learning and pursuing real estate investing seriously.

Don't be so quick to indebt your paid off townhome until your learn creative financing and review all your options.

Quote from @Jeff Roth: Hi Lina from Texas-Congratulations on your interest in investing in mid-term rentals and you are wondering how and where to get started.I get this question frequently from investors.Sometimes and investor is looking to keep their property cashflow positive as insurance and taxes have squeezed cashflow by turning units into mid-term or short-term rentals.First off, ideally, the property will cashflow as a long-term rental should something disrupt the mid-term rental model.You will also want to have the property be near where there would be a demand for mid-term rentals (hospitals, universities, research centers).Monthly rents for mid-term rentals are about 20% (+/-) higher than unfurnished similar long-term rentals.There are property managers that will manage mid-term rentals for you and I always advise my clients to use property managers to keep their investment as passive as possible and for compliance issues related to Fair Housing Laws and local regulations.To Your Success! 

You’re in a solid position with this property, and it’s smart to weigh your options carefully.

That will start to tell you if rentals are a feasible option for you.

Narrow your top cities, build a local team, and refine your financial analysis to position yourself for success.Good luck!

With that said, I am in the position where I will not need a monthly income from my rentals.

There are certainly options to cover mortgage and expenses but even those can be pretty far and few between.