As most buy and hold investor you want to maximize the cash-flow from a property and you can still pay extra to the principle of the loan after you have a good cash reserve for repairs.

Also, I think the most attractive part to this deal is that the rents are severely under market value and with a profit maximization strategy put in place to market value would increase the net income to about 40-45k/year.

My goal to maximize my cash flow to the point of living off of it.

They use social group bookings to maximize revenue for larger homes. 

If you are looking to maximize cash flow and don't care about the extra management or property appreciation, you can find that too.The first step (if you haven't done this already) is to determine your goals. 

I have $250 k to invest and My goal is to maximize passive income over time.

Is there a way to maximize returns as a buy and hold investor even heading into a dip?

Maybe a mortgage with another bank would let you directly do a CC payment, but I don't think you will have much luck....or a free easy way of accomplishing it..I am an avid miles collector, I maximize CC spend every way I can.

It sounds like you've been steadily building a strong financial foundation and real estate will be your best method of maximizing returns.

What would you do to maximize your return on 200k cash?