I am happy to hop on a call to share more of my local expertise and if you're still looking for professional property management, I can talk to you more about that.

It’s likely to at least pay for itself or help the property sell faster.Talk to a few local agents to confirm how much buyers in the area value a garage.

Welcome to Bigger Pockets and love see local folks getting into real estate investing!

Agree, STR are saturated but given the numbers, I expect unsuccessful players will leave the market.  

Having reasonable expectations, hiring a local professional (Realtor or PM), doing your research, and doing everything right (i.e. pro photos, professional design, good renovation, proper amenities and location, etc) are the keys to success in 2025.

You should see if there are any local real estate meetups going on while you're in town.

I found this property through my network of local real estate professionals.

We have been working in the affordable housing space for some time, and this allowed us to partner with the local community and provide a housing solution they need as their city continues to expand with new jobs they are successfully bringing to town.

A customer of mine happened to be a local real estate investor and he owned the land next to my business. 

From what I've heard, local banks are sometimes more flexible than the big guys.A buddy of mine managed to snag a HELOC on his rental property, which isn't always straightforward, but it opened doors for him.