The property also appears to be in an appreciating area, so selling and buy a cash flowing rental may not be the best option.Have you looked into ways to increase rent such as Mid-term of Short-term rental?

Try and keep this as short as possible.

And definitely keep your “rejection” letter short and to the point.

This entails dedicating a significant amount of time and effort to the short-term rental business.

If you do already own, then I'd consider a home with STR/Airbnb potential in one of the Denver-area cities that allow short-term rentals, or a multi-unit with LTR or MTR tenants. 

If you can wait out short term minimal cash flow and hold, you'll be very happy.

If this is just a short detour - i.e. parents are on serious borrowed time - then the same thing can apply, or you can simply choose to leave the home vacant while you're gone.

I kept the application paper short and didn’t state qualifications on it.

My philosophy is that I am trying to attract my ideal client.  

I've had a lot of STR/Airbmb clients in Denver/Colorado Springs furnish their short-term rentals with items from there.