This was not unique to a specific lender but some made the process easier then others for sure.Anyway, I am now approaching 75% LTV (based on initial purchase price) for the last investment property with PMI so I reached out to start the process and was denied with no explanation.

Build a portfolio of routine service call tasks and light remodels with actual costs that your Clients can compare to outside vendor's similar work.

To me the perfect short term rental property needed to be unique.

For commercial asset classes, local credit unions can often be an excellent resource for more complicated or unique property types. 

I don't know anything about your property but I can tell you folks these days love a unique experience, so think about what you can offer to your guests and build the sites to cater to that experience.

Here are some quick tips you can apply to your out-of-state investing journey.Do your research:Check out the local economy, job market, and rental trends in the new area.Look for spots with high rental demand and good growth potential.Get a Local Team:-Hire a property manager to handle daily tasks and tenant issues.

And these are unique situations.. 

Exclusive Use Clauses This is another challenging piece that is fairly unique to retail.

This is a very crowded space now, and what you've described is not particularly unique. 

I wouldn't worry about squatters, it definitely happens, but I don't think Cleveland is uniquely worse than other larger cities, and there's a lot of steps you can take to help prevent this problem if you have a vacant property or something that's getting worked on or you're waiting to rent out.