The midwest and specifically Chicago has always been slow and steady - thank you for giving us a shout out @Scott Trench!

There are a couple of things that I would think about here, the timeframe you want to work with this agent (can be 1 month or 2 months or a longer time), whether you could do it for a specific area/city/town, or you could do it for a couple of properties you see.

I had a renter that rearranged all the furniture, left everything absolutely filthy, grease spilled all over the counters and oven, food spilled on the floors and table, trash left everywhere, etc.

It was a very long drive. 18 hours in total on the open road, I would sleep in my car along the way and live off of gas station food.

Specifically, I’d like to understand:How to evaluate motel operations and what metrics are most critical.Best practices for managing or outsourcing day-to-day operations.Thanks in advance for your insights—I’m looking forward to learning from the amazing investors here and gaining a better understanding of this space!

@Matthew McCarty and @Aileen OuyangInvesting in anything is specific to each individual's goals.

Eager to hear if anyone has any more up to date information about Costa Rican REI in general and/or VRBO specifically

This is a touchy subject.If you observed specific concerning behaviors during interactions, such as rudeness, aggression, or disrespect for property, these could potentially be valid reasons for rejection if documented properly.You should add one very important things to do on your checklist, past landlord references and it must be legit and find out why they aren't there any longer.

I'm not an attorney or expert in AP specifically, but do have a working knowledge of it for Civil engineering/survey work and have had two projects where this came up and I was able to 'ride along' and see how it unfolded.First, if you 'know' the property has been taken by AP then there's nothing for you to do with the tax assessor etc.

Assumptions: specifically allowed in city ordinances, mobile home manufacturing in the area, or that someone heavily marketed that area as a retirement location in the past.