My beef with the people who teach this are(1) they imply this is somehow related to real estate investing; it is not(2) they imply you can be successful with only the knowledge they teach; this is not true, you need managerial and business skills and knowledge to a degree way beyond the scope of the “training” they provide.(3) they imply you can successfully do this on a part time basis; it’s actually a full time business demanding all of your attention(4) they imply competition is limited; competition is actually fierce, except for the deals on which there is no profit.Additionally, this industry is state regulated, by the state in which the property is located.

That's going to help make or break your market decision-- barrier to entry, purpose, and regulations.

I have fired customers because of their attitude , there is no law or regulation saying you Have to work for someone .

With all the new regulations and liability, I'm not seeing the same kind of reckless appraising that drove the lead up to the bust.Jay mentioned having cash reserves to weather problems.  

Cons might include increased inspections and regulations, potential for property damage, and the possibility of dealing with tenants who have more complex needs.

We decided to just give her the initials of all 6 followed by the surname that was apparently common to all.She then complained that there were letters missing from her surname on the mailbox so I asked our maintenance guy of 22 years why & he simply replied he ran out of the letter 'c' as she has 4 in her surname & the initials took up several more.Then she reported us to the USPS because she wanted a 'regulation' mailbox so we complied but then she didn't like the color!!!.

How local governments regulate STRs will determine a lot about the area.

STRs are super popular in Charleston, but there's a lot of regulation now that's only getting worse, as well as some saturation issues.HOI costs will be higher east of I95 in SC for the most part.

The regulations are significant.

There are 5 counties, one incorporated city (SLT) around Tahoe and 2 states Each county has it's own STR regulations.