LTR are much easier for a beginner and the income is extremely stable.

Then they will also be unprofitable and they will sell them, it is a vicious cycle and there’s simply too many STR‘s in the Poconos right now, the demand isn’t there and basically no one is making any profits off STR right now in the Poconos, they’re basically all losing money month over month on STREven right now in peak Summer season, most of my friends places are barely booked: they have low occupancy rates, and when they are booked, it’s only because they had to lower their prices extremely low like $100 per night.

It can be extremely lucrative if you know what you are doing.

She has been extremely responsive, polite, etc in all communication.

I am guessing it was just the extreme low temps.

The books explains the steps you need to take extremely well and I have been able to glean a lot from the book! 

Even if it wasn't going to be extremely profitable. 2) Get help underwriting the deal from an experienced, unbiased source.

The new crop of the IRS auditors is extremely undertrained, and dealing with them is a royal PITA.

But even with all that - barring some extreme specs required for your systems, it sounds really expensive to me.See what several quotes tell you. 

Go to Etsy and search for "rental property tracker," and you will find hundreds of nice spreadsheets to track 10-20 rentals, usually for under $10.Software has extremely helpful features like online payments, marketing syndication (click a button, and your property is advertised on multiple sites), electronic document review/signing, maintenance tracking, and owner reports.