Those cost in terms of lost rent, but also cleaning out the stuff that was left behind.If your place is managed by a PM, expect a 1 month vacancy (only once I have had no vacancy with my PM manage places, and once I had 2 months as they messed up and held it for a person-friend of the owner-who didn't put down a deposit and then they dropped the ball). 

. - If I were to find some creative renter solution and low-ball the market rent at $1700, I could only put in about $180K total assuming a conventional mortgage to generate acceptable cash flow.So, apart from increasing rent and managing the property myself what are ways that I could make something like this work?

A 2 stage is like a pitcher with a fast ball and change up.

I am an Associate Broker in Maine, been helping others get their STR properties, but now getting the ball rolling for my own properties!

There is no crystal ball of when we can sell we have been trying to.

when lehigh was put in they punched in roads to 250,000 lots.. one can google earth it today and see blocks of lots with like 2 or 5 homes per 50 lots.. lots trade there when its good times for 20 to 25k and bad times 2 to 10k  like a ping pong ball.. the GFC took down many land plays even out west..

I have mixed feelings about this as I am of the opinion the government is generally not the best at administering things in the free market, however I have seen first hand some slum lording of STR's and unsafe practices.I think for now if you are in those TX markets you will have to play ball but I think they will keep pushing new rules on you until people push back.

But I know the process so well that I can see them dropping the ball before they do and I get ahead of it. 

Anyone that thinks they have a crystal ball is full of it.

The Fed signaled that it will cut the rate by another half a percentage point this year and expects four more cuts in 2025 and two in 2026.”I don’t have a crystal ball here… but logic suggests as rates dip into the lower 6s, and then 5s, potentially into the upper 4s, buyer power will increase.