I don’t know about the Louisville market, but if you have to pay a bit more for the property than a traditional single family, it should be outweighed by the fact you will have a tenant paying hopefully well over half of the mortgage. 

For any cross-currency bookings, the guest service fee will include additional charges which could be as high as 16.5%. 2.

You'll want to work with a financial professional to hedge your currency risk if you do this.

Having been heavily in short term rentals for a while, I've found this to be about as much work up front, but we don't have to furnish, we don't have the management nightmares that STRs bring, we make as much or more cash flow, and we handle less maintenance than a traditional SFR.

Leveraging creative financing methods like hard money loans, private lending, or partnering with investors can also help you secure deals when traditional financing is delayed or limited.

Weigh out the Pro's and Con's between Traditional, Portfolio, and Non/QM like DSCR. 

traditional How did you add value to the deal?

Traditional lenders in this industry won't fund you on a purchase of a SFH that has leases for rooms and the building will need to be in your LLC name which means a primary bank won't lend you either cause of that and cause of your employment status.You have a real chance to start. 

Financing the deal with cash and a loan from your brother helped you avoid traditional loan costs, which likely benefited your margins.One key lesson you’ve pointed out—always buying low and, if possible, getting an inspection is something that can save a lot of time and money.

It can be a lucrative business opposed to the traditional LTR, but you definitely need to have your heart in the right place.