As long as that is somewhat higher than your student debt interest rate, I would do the investment.

Service it and keep it going as long as you can!

Your deposit is going towards your down payment so as long as you use your due diligence period properly there isn't a huge downside. 2.

If you submit the Deposit then the lease can start anytime in the next 14 days so long as you have completed the move-in requirements. 

As a REI, as long as the property has positive Cash Flow (and it better), the only cost to the REI is the DP because the tenant pays the rest. 

@Ari Dehbone here are the areas in SoCal that allow for Non-Owner Occupied short-term rentals (NOO STRs for short):Palm Springs: 36 total stays/yrFullerton (near Disney Land)Laguna Beach (non-residential zones)Huntington Beach (Sunset Beach area as long as you apply before 3/1/22)Santa Barbara: Inland (NOO in commercial zones and STR-Coastal Zone Historic Overlay Zone), Coastal (NOO unregulated, but court ruling allows for it)Joshua TreeMalibuBig Bear Lake (92315 zip code)Newport Beach (R-1.5, R-2 or RM Zones)You'll have to do your research on specific properties for cap rates and cash flow, but these are the areas I would look in.

Btw the reason you're finding contradictive information is because there is no right and wrong way to invest as long as you're making money, so no one is going to agree on anything 100% of the time. 

They are on the hook until the home is rented as long as you are reasonably trying to rent it. 

As long as their other bills don't exceed the other 66%, that is all you are likely concerned with. 

Yes, as long as you live in the property you can dictate a specific sex.