If she's honestly going to do better paying the rent, you could give her a chance. 

If the flip is more efficient, and delivers a better profit, go for the flip.Notice, I made hence to efficiency.

Akash, you said " I want an STR nearby (I live in the bay area) so I can manage it better."

I wouldn't touch Dayton. there's 5x better markets.

This also leads owners to ASSUME simpler is better when it comes to management contracts.

But as a tax accountant who sees these things in real life and how they work over long periods, I usually think there'd have been a better way to structure the investment.

Yes. build to rent in urban core adjacent neighborhoods. traditionally in our market in Columbus Ohio existing inventory was good 2014-2020. as prices rose, the cost to build started to match existing inventory prices because of supply shortage, especially for 2-4 multiunit dwellings. around that time we started to look at new construction and land. we found that land is a 12 month or more supply in our market which makes it a buyers market and you can design any structure you want in new construction. if you like a layout or floorplan all you have to do is design it. after that we looked at the right unit mix and Floorplans and layouts. we started looking at high rent per square foot layouts that were better than single family.

That being said I know we have a lot of people championing for the return of an even better app, but no set timeframe for something like that yet. 

I bet you heard but the market around those areas are booming right now, especially since it is a buyers market, it gives you an advantage to get better deals from sellers while people are continously moving there, especially for jobs like tech, logistics, etc. 

You should connect with investor-friendly agents who have access to off-market deals, get on wholesaler lists, and network with other investors to find better deals.