How to manage long distance STR as a newbie?

[Candor Real]

We are looking to buy our first short-term rental investment property, which is 3 hours away. Both my husband and I have a busy day job and we have a toddler. I would like to get some advice on how people manage their short-term rental properties that are far away and ensure they have positive cashflow. 

Also, any other tips on buying long distance investment property are appreciated!

[Collin Hays]

Quote from @Candor Real:

We are looking to buy our first short-term rental investment property, which is 3 hours away. Both my husband and I have a busy day job and we have a toddler. I would like to get some advice on how people manage their short-term rental properties that are far away and ensure they have positive cashflow. 

Also, any other tips on buying long distance investment property are appreciated!

Managing your rental will be a part time job; don't let anyone tell you different. Someone will need to be handling inquiries, monitoring rates, guest issues that arise, marketing, repairs, maintenance, and housekeeping.  This can all be done remotely.  But it will be a time commitment. 

The biggest key to self-management is being EXTREMELY PROACTIVE. That's because you probably don't have resources on the ground to get a hot tub fixed stat, or fix a sticky door lock. The trick is to AVOID these things, because if you do not, you'll be refunding rents.  Going chintzy on everything while self-managing might save you a management fee, but you'll give every bit of that back and more by hassling with unhappy guests over refunds, etc.

Proactivity includes preventative maintenance. If your A/C unit is 10 years old, replace it. It will be a whole lot cheaper to do it now than when you have to give back a week's worth of rent, and then pay someone twice the going rate to go and fix it. Keep on top of septic and plumbing.  Replace furniture at the first sign that it's getting rickety or soiled.

If I was self-managing, I would try to buy something within two hours of where I live. Even if you have good folks on the ground to help you out, you are going to be making trips to take care of things that those people are unlikely to do, not the least of which is risk management:  Making sure your property is safe for guests, inside and out.  This is the most common oversight by self-managers, but it's the one that could be financially catastrophic.