I'd like to get other people's opinions but here's what I was thinking on pros and cons.pros: low down-payment, high leverage effectively a hedge against inflation, use up unique fha loan slot, get a second rental, I can get capital gains by building/buying for 5% less than market value. 

I am mostly in the PG County area.

If you don’t include utilities in the rent, then do you still need to add a value into those slots ?

This is pretty much what most people do, they use their one and only 2nd home slot for their first STR, then you are stuck with investment loans thereafter. 

I use my extra website slots as testing grounds primarily.

I am going to turn it to gaming parlor and using the slot revenues to generate revenues to achieve the other options I wanted to do in the building.

I will PG the debt. 

As a beginner, many lenders are likely going to require a personal guarantee (often referred to as a PG). 

Either to "free up slots" or take on new loans, private or commercial lending are viable options.  

The Route 1 Corridor in PG County (Hyattsville - College Park) is a great location for this strategy, with high demand for tenants, a diverse mix of property types (many with basement walk-outs), and relatively affordable prices.