Our goal is to have a short term rental business and build it over the next several years.

Long story short, it has been over a year and the project remained incomplete and he walked away with the money.

Q2 is most important: If the mortgaage is upside down, it would have to be an approved short sale and that could take a very long time to rectify.

To throw a wrench into things, if we were talking about real property/structures that were being short term rented, it's possible/likely that your depreciation period would be 39 years, not 27.5.However, a vehicle - which is what an RV is, regardless of how you're using it - is 5 year property.

Quote from @Brendan Jones: When it's a home you intend to live in, I lean towards focusing on what you want, then making it work as best you can as a short-term rental.

It is in the area that has decent short-term rental rates based on airdna and what property managers are seeing.How much more in maintenance have you all noticed on a short-term rental versus a long-term rental?

;(- if as-is value is less then the balance on the mortgage + arears OOOPS you need to have the owner work with the bank, you as the investor buyer AND a short sales expert often an agent work the tedious and usually failing short sale process. 

Here’s the situation:Purchase Price: $540,000Down Payment: 20%Mortgage Rate: 7.125% (30-year fixed)Monthly Expenses (Mortgage, HOA, Taxes, Insurance): $3,706Realistic Max Rent: $3,000As you can see, I’m currently short $706/month even with max rent.

.- Short-Term Rentals in Non-Traditional Markets: Secondary markets like Florence, Alabama, are ideal for short-term rentals.

I think there's a path to refinance that would flip me into positive cash flow, but I'm coming up short on ideas.