If you're operating a short term rental that focuses on <30 day stays, you should consider a Schedule C business.The 2018 Schedule E tax forms has a box for Short Term Rentals but I'm not clear what they have in mind.

Zillow says $125 rent increase equals a move and $50 increase is a common increase for tenants who stay.

you should get your financing locked down first. you may find it next to impossible to find financing for a foreigner with those kind of down payments. and for sure heed @Ned Carey advice top of the market not the bottom look for a solid 5 to 8% return instead of 10 to 15  those are for those that live there and can stay right on top of them. 

It sounds like he got burned on his first SFH and that made him stay away from them.My real estate agent suggested a refinance as well, which sounds like an ideal option. 

I know you have to live in each for at least a year but I should have enough saved to where I can shortly make a down payment on another property regardless of needing to stay in the first home. 

Just stay aggressive and hopefully good things come your way.

If they pay you can always let them stay.  

The Cash Flow is ridiculous.Over time, you get to understand that Cash Flow is something that only stays the same if you invested in something that is designed to do so like a Coupon Bond.Because I calculate the FUTURE Cash Flows out 10 years, I fully understand the true return of the Investments and how much cash flow I will achieve.The other thing to take into consideration is the Mortgage Balance reduction.If your investment is at break even but your Mortgage is a fixed rate, then one day, when that Mortgage goes away, your Cash Flow increases tremendously.When you take into account a 30 year projection of your Investment Cash Flows, you realize just how wealthy you can get by buying for FUTURE Cash Flow as opposed to Cash Flow NOW.It's really not RIGHT to pretend that the Cash flow you receive at the purchase is going to be the same throughout the holding period of the investment.

One SFH I looked at recently required that you stay in the house yourself for a year before renting it out.

While it costs little more money than your traditional plumbing, it can be beneficial in ways that your hot water will always stay warm and it keeps the water circulating with warm water, thus keeping your pipes warm.