I am figuring out what I want to build next that will have the best equity play but still crush as a STR.

I'm curious to hear how it played out.

It's almost always worth owning a house in a very good area, very rare it's not worth it.Making it a STR is just a hospitality play, the underlying value is the asset.  

The play is a 3 to 5 year hold, raise rents to get the valuation up to 600K and liquidate to 1031 into another investment.

I think that would play a big factor in how I would respond. 

It just means landlords and tenants play the game of making the bedroom look not like a bedroom during an inspection.

so, whatever the comps that you need to target are - you go for thosein terms of getting desired rents, certainly finishes will come into play a little bitand then of course you want a safe, high quality rentalone thing to note that is not often pointed out is that, with a BRRRR, the higher you boost the ARV, the higher your mortgage payment is going to be and the lower your cash flowso a few things to consider herehope this helps

Seems to me BP is justs following the same play book as Zillow RE leads..

---However, once you convert a space, like a basement, into a separate livable unit with its own entrance, that’s when ADU regulations come into play.

If saving more helps you put more down on the rental AND you want to buy quickly, consider that route.If you are slow playing your next purchase, maybe you go a different route.Personally, I do not mind being more liquid and collecting interest or investing in the market vs paying debt down, but that is me...