I did house hacking and still doing it and to start I hired a property manager to both learn from and to allow me to continue working full time until I was able to take over managing the property. 

Until then. it's virtual money. 

Is it easy to creat an LLC on your own, or would it be wiser to hire someone to assist me?

Quartz is virtually indestructible, and you will get that "it" factor in an STR that you need.

If you're looking to make it easier on yourself, consider hiring a property manager.

I know its expensive but you will be well protected :)Or you save a lot of money and be better protected by doing this consistently and well:-carry appropriate types and amounts of insurance-sign contracts with indemnification provisions- obtain all necessary licenses and permits to operate your business-ensure all vendors/contractors are licensed and insured and list you as additional insured-sign well drafted and fair leases and be a responsive landlord -be an active owner or hire an active PM  who avoids or at worse timely eliminates premises liability exposure The strategies you often read about are sold by alarmist asset protection companies who fail to disclose how impractical they are.

There's always a shortage of deals in the market, specially now.Good news is that once you gain some traction, you'll be able to buy better lists, a power dialer and even hire a VA to help you find qualified seller leads (I run a call center for Real Estate).

Additionally, the cost of hiring someone to manage and oversee the property is also more expensive in Cancun.

Reasons: - Some of those owners could have ownec in that area before global warming was even a thought- virtually every area is being affected by climate change or has risks related to Mother Nature.- because the USA has contributed more to global warming than any country and has prospered from it. - some otherwise smart people do not believe humans are contributing to global warming.  

You're flipping the property to rental quality, creating a SOW, hiring contractors, or swinging hammers DIY to get it done.