It's hard to see a slow down in the near future with such a large, diverse, and business friendly economy such as Houston's. 

.($6500 deprecations on ¾ of a 225,000) +($2200 in property taxes. utilities and repairs) +($1000 in depreciation of furniture/TV/Appliances) +($2000 in mortgage interest) ($2500 state and local taxes.)That only equals $14,200, it’s hard to justify taking that over the standard deduction of $12,000 especially because I’ll have to pay back my deprecation eventually (I plan to do 1031 probably, but still ill have to pay it in the future).4.

I believe high demand will continue in the future and vacancy will be limited to less than a month (in 5 years of ownership and 4 tenants, turnover vacancy has ranged from overnight, to 1 week).  

I'm approaching this whole project as a big learning opportunity, to develop a skill-set I can use for future projects.I have a lot of fun plans for the garage of this property, which is huge, insulated, and has a bonus room, as well as a good structure for a garage-top deck. 

Contact me privately about the credit issues.Word to the wise for future reference, NEVER fall for the old "you can refinance" trick!!!

Could it end up being problematic in the future if not used, or would the work required to undo it be too significant?

Flip= break even , Rental= long term profits on amortization, potential future cashflow as you mentioned, and hopefully appreciation.

Nashville has outlawed this year all future absentee owners for Short Term Rentals except in the commercial district downtown.

Take the breaks when you can and worry about the future taxes later.

To be honest, the rehab spooks me a bit as Burlington proper has loads of really old homes (100+ years), so I'm prepping myself for that hit ... but honestly, that's Future Joe's problem.