You mentioned the roof and AC being new and i'm assuming they're in good condition.10% should be enough to cover the random water heater that goes or any other lesser headache. 

And in my opinion, his book covers everything a newbie needs to understand: from asset selection, to evaluating sponsors, to capital structures.

I can't remember the last time a tenant's pet cause damage that wasn't covered by the deposit. 

Points will be deducted for deficiencies and remove subjectivity in the inspection process.

This is a very common agreement, in your space your problem and they also should have insurance that if its extensive insurance would cover it. 

Leasing at $3k/month covers your current mortgage comfortably, so refinancing could relieve the pressure of the balloon payment.

They are subject to liability if someone sues, and their license is subject to discipline or loss of license if you violate rules/laws and get caught.

Keeping this as a rental would not cover the mortgage (we'd have to pay ~1500 a month including utilities) and we can afford the extra payment, but is it worth it when looking at appreciation?

So make sure you can cover both loans for awhile. 

One note is that if the property was helping cover my costs of living while I house hacked it I wouldn’t worry about negative cash flow while I resided there.