The advantage of porcelain and vinyl in Arizona (as opposed to real wood), is that you don't have to worry about moisture issues (or lack thereof).

I did this a few years ago and it still looks good as new, but I recently read that its not recommended to use fix-it-all on the exterior of the home because it can absorb the moisture in the air and further rot the wood. 

@Michael Plaks has a great post on this topic.2 - Assess the value of those tax deductions to you: The value of a deduction depends on (a) whether you're actually able to use it to reduce taxable income and (b) your marginal tax rate.As an STR, assuming the average rental period is 7 days or less, key items to consider are: (a) material participation and (b) avoidance of "excessive" personal use.

Lower demand and excess of investment properties. 

I would guess in the near future you'll start to see meters that automatically shut-off after excessive use.

When a tenant moves out, transfer the deposit back to Checking so it's ready to apply towards expenses or refund the Tenant.If you end up with excess funds in the Checking account, I recommend you transfer it to a third account designated explicitly for future investments.

The drawback you have to fit "in the box"; 20% down +, excessive reserves requirement, specific restrictions on tradelines, assets guidelines, DTI under 43%, owner occupancy etc.. if you are open to ARMs you will have a bit more options..Also need to consider the type of property - if condo/condotel banks might not finance at all.. there are many factors to consider we do have some good outlets for jumbo, would be happy to review your scenario and give you a quote.

The larger brokerages are usually too prohibitive and costly, lots of oversight and charging a lot of excess fees in addition to hefty commission split.

I recently had a tenant move out. He claims that in a spare bedroom, which was hidden by a bed, when he moved the bed out he discovered an extremely raised section of the hardwood floors. The "peak" of the raised sect...

Your excessive use of ALL CAPS shows your overly emotional investment to a very low stakes situation.