. :-) Even if you win the war, loosing the battle can easily wipe out all your profits and more.Think about that recent CA AirBnB case where the lady was in the guest house for almost 2 years with no rent?  

Sure it can work for some but it is an uphill battle and like @Travis Timmons said, you are losing out on appreciation...the Holy Grail...I would just start buying property, some may work as STR, some may not....but they all should work as LTR.

If you can convince them a bona fide lender is on board, that's 90% of the battle. 

Do you want to get into what can be a years long battle with multiple parties, including our darling city council, until you get to move into your home the way you want it?

Real estate is a constant cycle of losing battles to win the war.

I have been battling with the credit bureaus for 15 years between 2 divorces, and multiple incidents of identity theft (the untold effect of military service).

STR guests pay up front so 2/3 of the battle is done. 

If audited, it will be an uphill battle. 

How to mitigate unexpecting costs that come up, is a battle that happens on every deal, but how we handle it is to keep the reps up.

Now I have to battle the insurance companies.