Remember that only the interest/tax/insurance portion of the mortgage payment is tax-deductible - the portion that pays toward the principle is income.

Purchase price: $47,000 Cash invested: $6,000 Found this home on the MLS and made a sight unseen offer with a 24 hour due diligence period to ensure I had a chance to walk through it before it truly became official.

Wear and tear on STR's is out of sight. 

First, don't get me wrong - I am on your side and in complete agreement with your principles.

There are principles to real estate investing that you can apply across the country.  

For an already-rented property with few repair issues in sight, should I find a cheaper option for management?

Just keep the principle I gave you in mind.

IRS likes a matching principle- you get to write off expenses of thigns that are business assets earning you money. 

I believe they would pay any income taxes owed as the principle gets paid down.

That way you're not asking for more of the potential profit, you're just protecting your downside in case the refi falls short - which can definitely happen.In principle, it should have been ironed out in the Partnership Agreement before the deal happened.