To their credit they took care of it right away and stayed the rest of their reservation. 

Unless it is extremely cheap (which I'm sure its not), it would be more worthwhile to just have proper reserves.

I network with some other military (active, reserve, and veteran) investors and I started my business while I was active duty. 

The IRS just always reserves the right to disagree.2.

It property management system such as smoobu or owner reservations can handle incoming bookings, it can handle automated email responses, calendar management, good quality vacation rental lock that will handle check-in and check-out there's a lot of self-management advice already posted and people who give you input on this avoid the high-priced property managers.

Hot water, heat, stove and the clothes dryer are natural gas. 

I have brought a buyer who is an active flipper to look at the property, and he did agree that it may be in the right ballpark, but also shared some reservations a about the cost exceeding that.

40k may sound like a lot, but if you are buying a straight investment property in Northern NJ you will need 20 percent down, closing costs, and reserves of at least 10-15k.

So imagine what happens when someone is tactical in purchasing properties in those locations.Some people claim that relying on appreciation is speculative in nature. 

Oh, the refi proceeds are going straight to cash reserves as I build up a large opportunity fund.