The exact amount of rent on Jan 1 will depend on whether your notice of the increase was handled according to the lease or not, but you may not want to risk providing her with angles to fight you in court just over a few dollars.

These are very risk gambles that should only be attempted with money you don't really care about.  

For a partnership where you're providing all labor and the broker is funding the deal, a fair split typically ranges from 30-50% for you and 50-70% for the broker, depending on the value and complexity of your labor versus the financial risk they're taking.

Although the cleaner is probably the most important piece to the puzzle for your STR success, there is alot more involved with managing it.

However, the risk of significant repairs is not to be taken lightly. 

Plus for its high cash flow potential, utilizing a 1031 exchange to reinvest gains effectively made this experiment a relatively low risk for me.

Fix-and-flip or builder’s risk insurance should be in place before work begins, and confirm your contractor obtains all necessary permits to avoid delays.

This is personal opinion and could be wrong so use at your own risk.1) Yes, it is possible to find deals where all of the cash flow for 5 years (and often more) is offset by depreciation. 

It does later say in the agreement that it is:"binding upon persons who own, lease, sublease, or occupy any parcel or portion thereof"The inclusion of which seems to imply that long term renting and/or subleasing would NOT be commercial use.I'm trying to figure out if I'm taking a significant risk buying this property for use as an STR.

It would be a direct sale with no brokers involved.