My wife bought a condo for 178K with a conventional mortgage (10% down, 4.25% APR) in 2019 before we were married.

Keep pushing forward; the sky's the limit!

I would address these issues people are having and even explore starting fresh with a new listing. 3) I would find something local to offer by partnering with a local business to give a discount for maybe something like jet ski rentals, restaurants, etc. 

Aspen and Vail are not just tourist destinations but have also become refuges for billionaires seeking luxury homes with access to ski slopes, adventure sports, and total exclusivity.

You don't necessary need to get a pre approval and have a hard inquiry.

Shasta to the north is also getting some development interest because of the ski area, proximity to vast amounts of wilderness with all kinds of recreation.

They should be able to send you a pre-approval letter.   

A short sale is basically a pre-foreclosed property, and the sellers Broker can walk them through obtaining a short sale approval with their financial investor/mortgage company… the seller is not liable for paying the broker or any additional debt that has been agreed upon by their investor/mortgage company, including the Broker’s commission.  

Quote from @Jason Kudo: I have a property in the Joshua Tree market and it's doing fantastic.That's great for you :-) However the OP might want to know if you paid cash, have a loan, at what APR, and all that good stuff that could make the difference for him having a decent ROI.

The big picture is that the State of Florida said in a ruling, If a municipality didn't already have a pre-existing rule regarding short term rentals as of 2011, then the municipality cannot ban STRs.