For example, do landlords in that neighborhood charge for coin operated laundry, or do they hold pet deposits?

Yes, it's more work up front, but we have an investor relations team dedicated to performing that work so it doesn't distract us from operations. 

Say I want to buy a property to operate it as a STR (with material participation avg < 7days stay).If I travel to the beach to see some properties I am interested in, am I allowed to deduct the travel, stay, meals as expenses?

You materially participate in an activity if you're involved in the operation of the activity on a regular, continuous, and substantial basis.

It has to do with the LLC Operating Agreement you use.

., while John has a lot more experience than I do, and no real estate investor wants to be a restaurant operator, there are some upsides to Option 1, as I see it.The lower base rent could allow the Option 1 tenant to remain open throughout a recession, while option 2 may decide to close down the sales drop, if rent is too high.But beyond that, are a lot of factors that I would assess:Who is the actual guarantor on each lease?  

Thanks all, only clarification is I’m making money in Summer, and apologies for miscommunication - I meant on average (annually) I’m losing 5-10k so realistically will lose $75k on it first 12 months operating (but created about $800k of equity).

Currently I’m operating it as a STR, but I need a new cleaner and the quotes I’m getting are in some cases double my nightly rate, and the amount it grosses is only slightly more than what it will do as a LTR.

In my case, I just purchased my first out-of-state property and plan to operate it as a STR. 

Rents tend to rise over time, amortization steadily increases equity, incomes rise, so the investor has a lot of “cover” for unfortunate timing or operating “mistakes”.Number 2 - periods like 1932 - 1941 and 2008 - 2013 are much harder on this strategy.