If you're just getting started, stay local.

Mine was also out of state, in a town I’d never visited, and I relied heavily on videos from my agent.This sounds like a tough first deal, but it seems like you have some capital on the side, which will be useful as you face the upcoming challenges and learn from those expensive early mistakes.Regarding the subject of this post, “help me adjust my expectations,” I’d recommend assuming that; repairs will cost twice as much as you estimate, maintenance and vacancy rates will likely double from your initial projections, there’s a very real chance you may lose money on this deal.That said, there are ways to mitigate these risks by:- Keep asking questions here on BP and connecting with local experts- Stay proactive and communicative with your agent and property manager.And remember “Inspect what you expect.”Im not trying to discourage you but to help reset your expectations.

I hope someone in Sub2 community who financed purchases of the homes they sold could share in few bullet points how they accomplished it, while staying compliant with Dodd Frank and Safe Acts.    

That said, we have traveled a lot and stayed in wonderful Airbnbs over the years and have always dreamed of creating an incredible experience for someone visiting Minnesota with a short-term rental as well, so we are definitely open to that idea and have some great experience as to what we know would provide an exceptional short-term rental experience. 

Shayan,Best option to avoid issues and stay risk free along with having a better approval chance would be to go with a Cash out refinance.

The ARV was believed to be around $235k so my agent told me to try to stay all in around $176K.

Was it for a place to live for work before they found a permanent location or was it used for someone wanting to stay in the area as a 2nd home for the winter months?

Check Furnished Finder, Zillow, as well as AirBnb and VRBO (30+ day stays) to see what sort of competition is in that specific market.

Many people get bored after a week or two and won't want to stay longer as there are hardly any cities and not much happening and there's so much jungle you can look at in a day (it's a great place for quiet retirees).

I have no issue staying booked so whatever I am doing is working for us.