The ability to expand is also a big deal and I bet it won’t take you a tenth of the time it would take here with zoning, permits, etc - in addition to costs. 

Good, cash flowing assets in Class A and B will be your best bets.

Sweeping the nation bet it will be if not 100% nationwide will be pert near by next weekend

I do not answer calls or texts from my guests ever and I’m the most popular host in my market.

2008 effected real estate values due to all the foreclosures on loans that never should have been made and variable interest rates going up to make payments unaffordable for many people.During recessions people tend to stay closer to home and not do as much international travel.I would venture a guess that some place as popular as the smokies would be about as recession proof as you can get.

I agree with @Deborah McDonough - not only is a 20k estimate in rehab costs likely too low, but I bet you will spend north of 35k to rehab this house nicely unless you do the majority of the work yourself, and if the foundation/crawl space is actually in good shape. 

I think we are all hedging out bets one way or another right now. 

Im betting it WILL pass,soon. 

I've held commercial assets in LLCs for years, but not residential and certainly not my primary res.I'll let tax pros speak to whether you'll be able to claim the sect 121 capital gains exclusion in an LLC or not, but I bet it gets messy.

Be as specific as possible.If you actually get management for this it will probably be 10-12% or more.I bet you can do better than 4%.Lawn care?