I'm interested in investing in rental properties around Columbia as well, I'd love to connect with fellow investors and/or agents with experience working with investors.

Once again, this matches my personal experience that the larger, more expensive properties continue to sell better than smaller properties. 

Secondly, you'll definitely want to confirm with a tax strategist with experience in the STR space to confirm if the setup you describe will pass as an STR with the IRS. 

Experience, and 2.) a team in place. 

That almost always works in my experience and then you dont have the headaches of a battle.

Most lenders will vary how aggressive they will get based on the experience of the operator (you), but I don't know any that will lender to someone who's never done a spec build like you're contemplating.

I found investors to do well when they already have experience in their local market.

Let us know if you end up purchasing any through action and how that experience goes

(particularly true for single family homes)  Tom and Aaron may have different experiences.  

You don't need to know everything to get started; you need a foundation to build on, and the rest will come through experience and then refining your education.You can build a basic understanding of investing in 3-6 months.