There are a couple of things that I would think about here, the timeframe you want to work with this agent (can be 1 month or 2 months or a longer time), whether you could do it for a specific area/city/town, or you could do it for a couple of properties you see.

And now with rates being high, plus many areas overbuilt with new apartment buildings, I’d be careful with unknown areas, and also what you read in the media about “hot” areas, up and comers, etc.I was in a similar situation to yours a couple years ago.

In Oceanside, New non-hosted STRs are prohibited outside of the Coastal Zone as of February 10, 2024.Most HOA's do not allow rentals less than 30 days so that is likely not an option unless you find a couple of places on the water that allow it but usually tough to find below $1M. 

I had a plumber inspect the furnace a couple of months ago and said it was in good shape.

It couldn't hurt to call a couple attorneys right away to see what they say in terms of cost and suggestions for dealing with this quickly.In terms of mitigating any legal issues with your tenant be sure you are documenting every conversation you have had with the HOA in terms of asking them to make the necessary repairs.

It was so easy the first couple times I didn’t think I’d need to.

I had a couple of people suggest to me to sell my appreciating Bay Area SFH so I could acquire more "doors" and theoretically "cash flow" more with OOS properties.

I have continued on my own investing journey which does still benefit us as a couple.

The walls are Home Depot subway tile .69 SF I've had the boxes in my garage for a couple of years.

After a couple of months of hard work and more than a few unexpected surprises during rehab, I sold the property for $145,000.