I personally reserve 15% of my rent per month for maintenance, capex, and vacancy.

Try looking into zillow/Redfin and see what your potential rents you can get near the neighborhood by filtering the bedrooms/bathrooms of the intentional property that you are planning to buy.

How much is the rent and what is the $2.5K maintenance credit? 

(It’s worth the furniture if you want it.)Think of it this way. 1)Lots of cities ar banning STR, o requiring you live in the house while it’s being rented out, or limiting you to a few months.

Rent some ozone machines or whatever it takes to remove the smell of cigarettes. 

A heloc in my view is best used to provide the down payment and rehab funds, rent, REFI, repeat.   

So you are renting a place to re-rent it (arbitrage) to someone else?

Material Participation Activities:Property Maintenance: Engage in repairs or construction work on the property to maintain or enhance its condition.Contractor Management: Oversee the hiring and coordination of contractors or handymen for property-related tasks.Tenant Interaction: Communicate with tenants regarding lease agreements, inquiries, or property issues.Property Acquisition: Invest time in property search and evaluation processes, including visits to potential investment properties.Property Management Tasks: Perform activities typically handled by property management companies, such as rent collection or property inspections.Non-Qualifying Activities:Educational Pursuits: Time spent on real estate education or training programs does not count towards material participation.Investor Hours: Hours dedicated to investment analysis, financial planning, or portfolio management are not considered material participation.

John rents out the property for 40 days in 2020, and uses it personally 20 days.  

We use one of the units for ourselves and rent the other (3) for 30+ day stays.