This creates an opportunity for the legit STR owners to possibly pick up another STR property at a distressed sale price. 

I was asked for hundreds of docs, plus more complications because the property was distresses requiring me to escrow money for repairs.

I was D4$ and came across this distressed looking house.

Owners are less likely to move generally, and any sign of distress results in them getting a lot of mail, making it hard to stand out.As far as changing your message, it is less about keywords, and more about creating interest.

Distress on the sellers part is critical.

However, I am confident that I would be able to successfully generate buyer and seller leads at scale using Google/Facebook/Instagram ads, so I am tempted.I've also thought about using my marketing experience to get leads for distressed properties and then wholesale them, but again I'm a newbie when it comes to investing in real estate, so I don't even know if that's practical in my area (Seattle).Are there any other paths I could take that comes to mind?

I currently am purchasing a distressed rehab rental property in East Orange, NJ.

I’ve been buying distressed value add properties selectively in Sussex county for a few years.

What is the best way to find a realtor that specializes in rehab and distressed properties. 

This will be investing on steroids.Buy distressed properties/foreclosures, rehab/flip