I know this is an unpopular opinion around here that you won’t see on the front page of the daily BiggerPockets newsletter, but it’s the truthI get where you're coming from, and I think you make some good points about the challenges of the short-term rental (STR) market right now—high housing prices, mortgage rates, and fierce competition.

You can also check out local Facebook pages in the markets you are looking in.

I figured the PM would definitely be local to the area of the property and would need different PM's for each area, those were just the areas I'd like to invest in. 

Purchased a property that was listed by sellers agent on Zillow realtor.com etc as triplex with rents listed etc. my realtor verified the rents, as it has been rented as a triplex for 25+ years, worked with both my realtor and listing agent through the sale.

Given the fact that if  there is a gain a future year the prior year loss can offset it, it seems that one would want to file the loss so they can offset that gain.

Having a partner who has done larger deals will get you through the door many times. 

As a real estate investor, I’ve learned the hard way about the mistakes that can cost time and deals.

We are hoping to close in the next two weeks on a property that we know will *maybe* break even and more likely lose about $2K in the first year, but we're okay with that because we're getting something that we absolutely love and hope to enjoy for years to come.

The area where i live, land is very expensive.

Look for properties in the same (or similar) neighborhood with the same size and amenities.