As an STR you can definitely cash flow but you'll just need to make sure you can make that balloon payment.

I know that I can write my travel, supplies, and food expenses off of my taxes while on that trip.

The best bet is to find an insurance BROKER (keyword) and have them search around for the best rate to see if they can beat any of the three I named. 

While not identical it can be similar, the larger the deal the greater the mistakes are emphasized.I have been in real estate for a few circles around the sun and I would not myself nor recommend to others to bite something off this big to start.

I do not think that I can get zoning changed for the property.

Now I'm looking at real estate to see how I can build a small portfolio and would love to make some connections here for advice and sounding boards.  

And you can determine the sweet spot for pricing your place based on comparable properties that are your competition.Mike

If you can expand upon on your post by highlighting neighborhood fundamentals that indicate the neighborhood is going to change we can have an entirely different conversation  but I did not get that feeling based on the information you shared.

However, I think we can all agree that the number of books you read and the number of podcasts you listen to are essentially irrelevant until you start putting that knowledge into action. 

Since this is the first time to deal with mold, I would appreciate if anyone can share some input.