I am searching through all the BP threads trying to find the best fit for me in terms of asset protection/law/CPA firm that specialize in real estate investment and have narrowed it down to Anderson or KKOS/Mark Kohler.

Most of the bad noise right now is about downtown skyscrapers and REIT or Syndication apartment complexes where they played short term versus long term interest rates wrong.  

If you are willing to do some work, you can force appreciation, capture some equity, which boosts rent-to-value.In terms of areas to avoid, I would stay away from the East side, particularly anything along Post road between Pendleton Pike and I-74. 

I have a couple of investments and am about to jump into a Short term rental while still being a w-2 employee.

If it's on the higher side you may want to consider it for mid-term or long term rental, but if most stays are below 30 it can be viable for short-term! 

NOGuidance line Terms as least for us in the 2000s were I had 6 different bank guidance  lines.1. advance 80% of loan we needed 20% of our own cash.2. one year term  1 point at each renewal.3.

google "all inclusive Deed of Trust" fantastic CA document we used all the way back in the early 80s If I'm not mistaken though a wrap would require the 2nd buyer to also agree to financing terms; which would be the same as me (the 1st buyer). 

LTRs with long term conventional financing and standard management aren't really cash flowing anywhere right now. sure, there are lower cost markets that look better on paper, but there are costs associated with those supposedly cheap markets as well - deferred maintenance, more challenging tenant base, higher cost turnovers as a percentage of the rent.2. i wouldn't pick a random market thousands of miles away based solely on statistics or numbers. 

Currently, we manage approximately 40 short- and mid-term rentals, in addition to a few long-term properties.

The strategy there is more about long-term appreciation since cash flow can be razor-thin.