My thought was that we would ask for the money for down payment in the form of a “gift”, and then do all of the work of finding and purchasing the right property, budgeting and managing all of the renovations (and doing most of the labor ourselves), and selling in the span of 4-6 months. 

I have a client interested in purchasing a property, using hard money to also cover rehab cost, and then has a theory to appraise it and sell it to themselves in another LLC so they could pull a lump some without losing real possession of the property.

Maybe better off just selling and re-investing in a different property.

@William Kuczmera - I have been toying with this idea myself.

A good option might be single family properties in Saginaw - they pay their own utilities and maintain their own lawns/snow removal, so it saves you time and money, and they're easier to sell if the need arises.  

Will your identified markets be an easy or difficult area to sell once it’s time?

Also would it be better to sell my home?

IMO the money being made in STR arbitrage right now is by people who got in early and by people selling the "learn my 5 top ways to make money in real estate now with no money down!"

I've been buying and selling Real Estate for a little over a year here in the Hampton Roads.

IE paying 1.5 for a fixer putting 300k into it or 500k then selling for 2.5  ..