Keep leveraging your knowledge of local opportunities to acquire your first property and expand from there.Financially, reinvest your earnings, and make sure you have a solid grasp of cash flow and expenses before making your first purchase.

I am a newbie and in the process of acquiring my first STR in Broward County, Florida. 

What might help you for the next attempt is to read (BP's book written by yours truly--The Hands Off Investor), and network (join a community where investors discuss deals, trade advice and observations--coming soon will be Passive Pockets, an offshoot of BiggerPockets which recently acquired the popular passive investing group Left Field Investors).

The community leader, Josh Roosen, really goes out of his way to make you feel connected.And that's the real value of the group at the end of the day: They are committed to your success.A little about my track-record, since joining the group last year I've done:1) acquired 80 units ($7mm in assets) across 2 syndications and 1 joint venture2) Launched a podcast (Multifamily Investing Made Simple)3) Will be publishing a book (Passive Investing Made Simple) in June. 

Unless you make a great wage, and have deep pockets... acquiring the next property is going to be difficult. 

I acquired the four-plex with varied levels of updates, but would need/want to paint cabinets, paint doors, trim, walls; if carpeted, replace carpet with LVP; replace faucets with modern faucets, etc.

Bulk Purchasing: Work with large property owners, banks, or distressed asset funds to acquire multiple properties at discounted rates.

If you want to acquire the property and have it deeded directly into the LLC, you are looking at either purchasing it with cash, a commercial loan, a DSCR loan, or hard money. 

What is your secret sauce or what skills do you have in your toolbox that help you acquire these properties at discounts? 

For those of you that do an online application or furthermore just a simple "form" that is completed online, how do you go about acquiring and subsequently providing proof of obtaining such authorization without a signature?