i add a 15% commission (fee) to the booking and let guest pay the fee.

Quote from @Jonathan Chan: What kind of rates are you getting on gap?

There will be multiple markets you can achieve a 7.5% cap rate especially if you're buying with cash.

I am planning to get into the TN real estate market as my first investment and am looking for some information.In particular: Areas to steer clear of, property management fees, typical cosmetic rehab costs, etc.My strategy is to put large down payments on 2 properties (relative to housing prices) to help pay for my living in NY while still gaining appreciation in a growing real estate market.

Simply put, we start off with the As Repaired/Completed Value (ARV), then subtract from that number a reasonable profit, the rehab cost (scope of work), which we've gotten good at, a contingency reserve for any "unexpecteds", our cost of capital/carrying costs (interest and costs of the leverage used), and our costs/fees on the buy and sell sides of a flip.

In a climate like this with high rates, probably better to use a Heloc so you keep the lower rate of your 1st lien.

Quote from @Brandon Bell: I've owned a property for four years with a standard fixed-rate mortgage, and now I'm looking to convert it into a rental.

Fees seem high but could potentially be worth it.

I was one of the fortunate ones that was able to get out of the contract and after all expenses (forfeited deposit, legal fees, holding costs, etc) lost less than $20k.  

Last year, I purchased a SFH under market at 7.65% interest rate and did some rehab to up the value.