It's at a beautiful location on a stocked lake, next to a state park, 15 min from a ski resort, 15 min from casino's an hour from Denver.

Green board is highly efficient in bathrooms and kitchens where moisture is frequently in the air, but it is not the drywall that should be set behind tile in your shower surround or any other areas where it can come in direct contact with water."

With no one renting the common spaces I have access to the property frequently to meet with tenants, replace the AC filter, check to make sure we are not breaking HOA rules, make sure things aren't getting destroyed, and talk face to face with whoever is there to resolve any personal issues before they explode (see, more work!).

I've heard property taxes in Houston have been rising due to frequent town assessments. 

Just inspect your property more frequently to ensure the tenants are taking care of it and look for the best tenant you can when you are doing your background checks.

Is there a reason this isn't done as frequently?

I would also mention casinos as they are full of primarily elderly people however you probably want tenants who have the rent money each month.

The silver lining I suppose is you only lost $1000, this is a relatively cheap lesson in real estate, investors frequently lose more than that on bad flip projects. 

Federal, state, and city landlord-tenant laws change frequently.

Make sure the lenders you end up using are investors themselves or work with investors frequently.