This will get you 90% of the way there and should be sufficient.It works the same in a saturated area, it's just more to sort through.You are aware that STRs in Denver are allowed only in certain zones and you must live onsite?

@Mickey Petersen I would 1031 exchange into a larger better cash flowing property or whatever gives you a leg up on your wealth building.

Looks like that tenant was running some sort of 'consignment' living space in the basement.  

You can find online which larger institutions are buying in a specific area and try and reach out to them.

A mortgage lender can help determine if refinancing or tapping into equity might allow you to acquire additional properties.Consider a 1031 Exchange: If you're open to selling a current property, a 1031 exchange can defer capital gains taxes while enabling you to upgrade to a larger or more profitable asset.

Our house had a garage but was walled up and made into just a storage room and I would like to make it into a little studio and sort of house hack.

It is quite rural and it is much easier to get a permit for these sorts of things if you even need one.

I have text in my lease stating that the tenant is not allowed to make repairs to holes in walls and that any repair work that takes over 30 minutes or is larger than the size of small nail will be repaired by the landlord's hired labor at a cost of $30 per hour plus material costs. 

Your assumption about them being understaffed or prioritizing larger clients could very well be true.

The same organization has a facebook page and there you find re listings, recommended tradesmen and all sorts of posts.