First Time Short Term Rental

[Justin Melton]

My wife and I have been talking about purchasing a STR somewhere in the Florida Panhandle. Prefer single family home to condo but can be swayed depending on thoughts here. My question is this? Is it possible to cash flow a STR and my family can use it for a week or 2 per year? I know if we use it during the busiest time of year that will cut into our profit but we are thinking of buying a few STR in the next few years in destinations we like to visit.

This will allow us to have a vacation home that someone else pays for but build us equity as well. If the market appreciated, then we will have even more upside. I know STR is a lot of work potentially and people don't take care of a STR like they do their own home, but this is very appealing to me to park $75-100k as a down payment for a vacation home such as this and use it as a STR.

I know there are lots of threads on this, thank you in advance. Any other markets we could cash flow a STR and use it a weekend or week per year. I was researching and national park areas seem to be popular but I also don't want to be in ridiculously competitive markets either since we are newbies. Thank you in advance!