@Tim Delaney That is really good advise, I do of course need practice analyzing deals, and I may find the on- market deal.

Without this foundation any money spent on gurus, courses, books mentorships that teach techniques and methods is WASTED, even if the methodology being taught is valid.  

Well, of course it was a chance I had to take for the benefit of myself & my family, and it panned out - but part of panning out is knowing when is "enough", as Vicky Robin puts it. 

For STR, AirDNA is the most popular option of course, but the pricing model per city is rough (if it's still like that).

Feel free to share any tips or ask me questions! 

there are of course more creative strategies to reduce that up front outlay, or recoup your capital, like, say, the BRRRR method. but they are time and energy intensive and certainly not hands-off. 

I'd say the logical paradigm in the question is a bit off.CRE includes everything from airports to golf courses to hospitals to campgrounds.So saying "residential versus commercial" is like saying "bacon versus plant life."

They have a form you can fill out and submit, might be able to do it online depending on the city.  

Of course, any dataset has assumptions built into it...and I admit I'm not sure what those are in this case. 

This of course is all based on who your market is.