Wishing you @Michael Baum and the rest of my friends here a wonderful Thanksgiving.  

Recently I had a conversation with a friend and real estate agent who wanted to purchase a home.At the time, they were looking for an agent to represent their family on the transaction.

Hello BP Community,As is very common I have friends who purchase their rental houses under their own name in order to get lower interest rate loans with better terms and also cheaper landlord insurance, and then they transfer the title into their LLC after closing. 

This deal and the one before it came about from networking, building a relationship with my property manager, an investor friendly realtor, and learning what makes a deal a deal.

We would love an air bnb there to visit family and friends though! 

Like @Nicholas L. said, maybe look within a reasonable driving distance from where you live, is there any city or state where you have family or friends that live there where you could travel to frequently and they could keep on the property for you or somewhere you visit a lot.  

Sounds like your friends didn’t do their due diligence...

absolutely... but be careful... be smart in what you invest in... trust me my friend https://www.biggerpockets.com/...take warning ... be smart... be vigilant

Congratulations on deciding to take a big step by introducing yourself to the forums - while everyone is friendly and looking out for your success on these forums, I remember how intimidating it was making my first post introducing myself to the community 10 years ago and before I started working here. 

Some areas/neighborhoods are more STR friendly than others.