@Ben Cochran I hope you have factored STR tax savings into your cashflow and ROI as it can be significant.Leveraging equity to purchase a short-term rental (STR) in Tampa Bay can diversify your portfolio and potentially generate strong cash flow, but it also increases your financial risk.While your properties hold significant equity, adding debt from HELOCs or a DSCR loan could strain your finances if STR performance fluctuates or costs rise.

Then you may shop in that price range.Tip: check with your local credit union: they will consistently have better rates and often the underwriting of loans is done locally.Mike

As a "retired" public accountant and tax consultant I perform a lot of detailed ROI analysis for my clients. 

These loan officers will be important resources if you are consistently executing on the business plans behind each loan they give you.

We keep "kiddie" as we say backhome which is a pot of money set aside for rainy day fund in case we need to replace appliances, perform repairs or other capital improvements. 

Just know there’s a lot of competition, so you’ll need to stay consistent.

If you value simplicity and consistent income over high appreciation potential, this might align well with your goals.

Digitize physical receipts for easy storage and use a consistent naming convention for easy sorting - 2024.03.25 Home Depot.Maintain proper records, such as contracts, settlement statements, and promissory notes.Additionally, you can track income and expenses consistently using software or spreadsheets.As you scale, if bookkeeping isn't fun, consider hiring a bookkeeper for a couple hundred bucks per month.

@Guenevere F. you're going to need 20-25% down to get a mortgage.If you target $100k, that won't leave you any funds for closing cost, maintenance or emergency reserves.You could try targeting around $80k, but the $16k-$20k down payment would still not leave you with enough.If you buy under $80k, you're probably buying such a low-end property that it is unlikely to meet your performance expectations.

@Kyle Carter we manage around 700 doors, with 92 of them being S8.When S8 applicants are properly screened, they can statistically perform a decent amount better than cash-tenants.