If you can pull out an extra $20K a year I would go that route with the STR and you can use other VRBO's/AIRBNB receivables to find out local annual ROI/NOI.

I'd suggest trying to finding someone here with nothing to sell or through local networks that will give you some free advice before paying for a course.

She had to pay rent in May because she wasn't sure when her closing would take place.Landlord appears to have rented it out now.

Whether they are ones you negotiate for them to pay or ones you pay for out of your pocket.

Pay cash for the property and the rehab, then do cash out refi. 

I need to pay some good advisors for a few consults.

STR's are uncertain due to the term length, one month you can make all the money in the world, and the next you could be paying for those bills out of pocket, so it would have to be strategically operated, but at the same time they can be a fantastic source of income!

The $1250 amount would require the landlord to pay all utilities - which we don't recommend as tenants will abuse the utilities if they don't have to pay them.

You will see less of a benefit to extending that penalty beyond that, and if rates drop before then you would be forced to pay that penalty to get a lower rate. 

If you have a fully fenced in yard, you may also have a great set-up for being a pet-friendly MTR, which could mean extra revenue/pet rent without much effort on your end.Hope this info helps - keep us updated on how this ends up working out for you in the coming weeks!