As for the rest of it, you can find a lot of useful tips on past forum posts along with podcasts and youtube material on the topic (BP and other RE sources).We've self managed STRs for a few years.

I have 3 homes managed by a property manager.

I was wondering if you found a lender, and if so, how your project is going.

I used Hostify and you can work it into the management system to figure and charge all of that for you.  

You would have to self-manage though, as paying a property manager will eat up most of your profits.

If the negative cash flow is manageable and the appreciation potential is strong, it could be a smart move.On the other hand, investing out of state allows you to enter more affordable markets with strong, steady returns, helping you to build a diverse portfolio over time.

We're an appreciation market, not as much of a cash flow market here, unless you're putting a large down payment or actively managing STR's.Buying out-of-state can get you more cash flow, but the tradeoff is less appreciation (usually), and cash flow can be eaten up by maintenance and expenses.

If there’s a significant difference, it might justify the cost of adding more beds.For example, we manage a 4BD property where one bedroom is currently locked off, so it only sleeps 6 (1 king, 2 queen).

Hello, To all my permit expediters and all other contractors, how do you all go about finding leads for projects? 

Being able to be on site and able to commute 20-30 hours a week on the project is crucial for me