There may be some quick periods of no cash flow, but that should be made up at the end of the rehab... meaning make up for the loss of cash flow used for the rehab + regular cash flow, not back to neutral cash flow.

For this year, I currently have about $131k in short-term capital losses outside of real estate. 

Therefore, my monthly payment has now gone up by $1,000 which doesn't make sense to rent out anymore, as it will be at a significant cash flow loss.

However, I accumulate a good amount of passive activity losses from rental properties. 

Such short term rental  will follow these criteria(see numbered list below), in order to take advantage of (1) qualifying to fill out schedule E, thus avoiding the Self-Employment tax should there be any profits. and (2) being able to offset your W2 income should there be a paper loss. 

Profit/Loss Statement and Balance Sheet for the Property: At a minimum, we would want a profit/loss statement and a balance sheet for the most recent complete year as well as year-to-date for the property, but we would prefer to also get the last 2 years of tax return pages for the property.

There are appraisal fees, inspection fees and other fees involved on your end when you buy a property.When a seller has a need to sell quickly (job loss, job transfer, medical reason, marriage, divorce, probate) they sometimes will take speed and no hassle over list on the MLS.

To locate the best short-term rental (STR) insurance for your Asheville property, consider must-have coverages such as dwelling, liability, loss of use, and additional living expenses.

Appreciation is just the cherry on top.The last few years Toledo somewhat caught up with appreciation but I believe we are capped now.It's a slow moving market and always behind the rest of the country.There is just not enough demand/infrastructure growth like in other markets to support continued appreciation.Historical data shows the Toledo market appreciating at the pace of inflation which is nothing to brag about hehe.IMO, it's a cashflow play and you should consider building a larger portfolio because it will be safer.Owning 1-2 properties can be a "hit and a miss" and really not the providers or PM's fault.There is a high likelihood of turnover so it's important to build a larger portfolio.If you experience "drama" on 1 or 2 properties, the other 4-5 are performing and can subsidize any losses incurred on the few that temporarily aren't performing.Wishing you much success

I can offset stock capital gains with stock losses.