While I would entertain the idea of buying a decent home with the potential of forced appreciation ( new paint job, landscaping) I live in hawaii so going to go see the property and inspecting it would be an expensive expense.

In other words, you do need to figure out how you are going to stay abreast of and navigate an evolving and increasingly hostile legal landscape.

I.e. finishes, landscape, natural amenities.

Josh, The house is in the 35211 zip code, I’m assuming it’s not a very desirable area, but I plan to make the house one of the nicer ones in the area, fresh paint, landscaping, etc.

The landscape on short term rentals is quickly changing due to market factors, the popularity fueled by success touted by experts, and the economic environment. 

Also improving the landscaping and curb appeal will command a higher rents. 

There was an abandoned pool and overgrown landscaping that made the property appear MUCH worse than it actually was.

Try to get a current rent roll along with any of the monthly bills (i.e. utility bills, landscaping, contractors, etc).

As I mentioned to Bobby, this is due to the fact that we never defer maintenance and execute the following make-ready work between every tenant: replace carpet (where necessary), new coat of paint, patch holes, fix lights, thorough top-to-bottom deep clean, update landscaping, replace window coverings where needed, tighten or replace fixtures, handles, etc.

You'll also need funds to pay your holding costs, a 245k loan at 8.5% interest only is $1,633/m plus taxes, insurance, utilities, landscaping...etc, so somewhere around 2k/m holding costs.