Your best/safest bet would be a regular lease combined with an option to purchase.

With the exception of some small markets in the Southeast, places like Cleveland are the only major metro areas where a regular investor can find cash-flowing assets with a mix of appreciation. 

Not to mention how these properties don't appreciate the same as a regular home. what are your thoughts? 

This forum is super helpful too so I try to regularly review what’s going on and be as helpful as possible. 

I have been part of a regular meetup for a couple years now and it definitely helps ground you in your local market.

I'm the VP of a roofing company in South Florida and work with a few good PM companies on a regular basis, a lot of bad ones too.There are good and bad PMs in each of those companies. 

Are there many REITs that currently regularly engage in this type of feeder based structuring for a investors?

Given the property is located in the Poconos and the property is vacant more regularly as an STR there are proactive measures  you should  be taking such as making sure there are heating sources so that the plumbing does not freeze and ensuring there are no blocks in the plumbing lines with routine checks.

And while yes, no one has the same pricing (combination of factors), I also continue to check on a regular basis our rankings and how we "present" on total costs per stay vs. our competitors.My gut says there is price creep and we might have a ways to go before the market really corrects.

The nice thing is that with investment properties it all comes out in the wash of your due diligence.