I 100% agree with the intent aspect and that is an important premise, but the fact is in this particular situation intent for it to be personal use has been confirmed (by way of a public post).

I should also mention we shut off the breaker (to the garage) after confirmation from two electricians and our contractor that we had a serious fire risk.   

It can be done ethically, but you need safeguards to confirm mortgage & possibly property tax payments made on-time, as well as insurance with you protected.- Also, you need a legal way to take back the deed if buyer defaults!

If the tenant can’t prove the dog qualifies as a service animal or ESA, then it could be a lease violation.It’s a good idea to request documentation in writing and confirm its legitimacy.

@Samuel HudsonYou could consider being an owner occupant until it’s rent deregulated though you’d have to confirm how long you would need to do this as I believe the rules recently changed.You could look into turning into condos.

The PM vets I know will all confirm that you lose much less by lowering your rate of (monthly) rent than by missing an entire month of income! 

I’m an independent and licensed real estate broker in Tulum, and after analyzing the performance of numerous properties, I can confirm what Mike is saying.

As I suggested and you confirmed, the Côte d'Azur is a great place for capital gains but what I meant isn't necessarily where you're going to get high rental yields.What @Chris Magistrado mentioned represents a good depiction of the situation in Southern Italy.

One key factor to confirm is whether the STR permit is transferable, as regulations can change.

Well, I think @Christina Carey beat me to the $25,000 check but I'll confirm that Vena Jones-Cox offers a course titled "The Very Unsexy but Oh-so-Critical Fundamentals of Making money in Real Estate".