New people should learn to fix stuff, do leasing themselves and grind it out so they understand the business.   

You're a business owner now nothing wrong with that.   

Its not as easy but once you are up in running you are building a brand, equity in your business, and also constant flow of leads.

Of course we all have to start somewhere but I tell everyone I do business with regardless if it's with me or someone else I always recommend them to build a portfolio.

See responses to your questions below: Correct, California is uniqueTo qualify for REPS you need to meet a number of criteria, including (but STRs that meet IRS criteria generally don't need REPS to leverage tax benefits): More than 50 percent of his/her time working in real property businesses; AND, More than 750 hours of service during the year.

Fast forward 20 years: I now have money in the bank, excellent credit, live modestly on my own, and run a business that’s doing well.Unfortunately, I wasn’t able to save much for retirement during most of my life.

It’s a gem for insights into running and expanding a business.

Busy street 2.

I'm not sure why that metric has held true but it still applies, the properties that perform well above that ratio are the owners that treat their STR like a business.

Everyone was on bottled water for months.You may want to ask for proof that Flint is growing or attracting business investments.Now Detroit is an entirely different story!