As for by-the-room rentals, many lenders won't allow that and if they do, they qualify you off of the long term market rents (which, as I'm sure you can imagine, would be considerably lower than the actual per-room rents).

Or what happened to throwing an agent a couple grand to send off an offer. 

There are many STRs that do quite well in the suburbs of major cityies Off the top of my head, I can think of one of the STRs we manage that is 40 mins outside of Dallas and it has a great occupancy rate.

We could essentially get them off the property in about two months. 

@Travis TimmonsI had the same reaction as you did, but I held off on posting since I don't yet invest in STRs (I'm all LTR so far, and looking into my first MTR).Buying an STR "to offset income" makes me nervous as well...

Sounds like with are under charging our owners by thousands of dollars or they are trying to rip you off.

In my experience, there are a range of starting-off experiences, but one's experience is not always indicative of someone's desire/drive/commitment to pursue and thrive in real estate. 

Hello all, I have a SDIRA with some cash, 2 paid off properties and a stock portfolio in the SDIRAs name. 

A little over 15 years ago, in the late spring of 2009, I was a brand spanking new real estate agent coming off of a miserably failed real estate investment venture.

My number 1 tip would be to go off market and find owner that wants to sell at a discount / prefers speed and convenience.