Regarding your question about stronger and faster partners no longer needing you after they have your information, there are protections you have once you have the property under contract with a reasonable due diligence period.  

That’s the truth man, and they are trying to make rent control stronger with even less recourse.

Diversity is usually the best in the STR industry so if one area is lacking you can always tap into the stronger property. 

Florida is a much stronger and faster-growing market than Ohio. 

Making your offers stronger through limited to no contingencies, all cash, and quick closings help tremendously as does performing on those promises.Access to capital is another key point you should focus on.

They will also know that they're fully entitled to submit their own property inspections and bids for upgrades/rehab cost that will help make the file look stronger. 

It seems similar to Mt Airy in that it can vary so much block by block, etc, and I'm trying to get a handle on what areas / blocks of Germantown are stronger investments.

As an example if 2 offers come in at the same price, the seller will more then likely pick the person who has stronger financials. 

You may be able to leverage a hard money lender and then refi to place stronger offers.

With the housing meltdown, the property value is down and so I cannot even sell without taking a hit, plus renting has become harder and there is a lot of pressure to reduce rent etc...So this strategy will enable me to have more flexibility on being competitive on the rent i charge which I reduce to attract stronger tenants, without taking a loss on my monthly rent cashflow...I was looking at all the options given my circumstances etc...Please advice as I am new to all this...What do others do in my scenario...thanks