Starting local offers hands-on experience and control, ideal for learning the ropes, while out-of-state investments can provide better returns but require a reliable property manager.

I check to see how the dogs behave with people, ideally also with children, with dogs, and with cats.  

I definitely need to do more analysis in terms of comparing against other rentas in the area and ideal beds and heads count. 

., desks and Wi-Fi for professionals, cribs and baby gates for families).Evaluate Your Own SpaceYour property’s layout, amenities, and location may naturally cater to a specific audience.A cozy 1-bedroom apartment downtown might be ideal for professionals or couples.A 3-bedroom house with a yard might appeal more to families.Proximity to nightlife might cater to party groups.Experiment and AdjustIf you're unsure, start broad and monitor who books your property.

Ideally you would put only one persons name on the mortgage unless you absolutely had to have both to qualify.  

After living in the property for a full year, we have come to terms and accepted that this is not our ideal location.

In 2019 i was at ideal occupancy but none of my STRs are at ideal occupancy today.Do what you want with regard to the number of OTAs, but i plan to never be associated with a single OTA.  

There's a few different ways to focus on a lower rate such as with house hacking and making the investment your primary residence, requesting a significant closing credit from the sellers for standard rate buy-downs (which I've had great success with recently), or utilizing lenders who offer short term rate lowering solutions such as 2-1 rate buy downs (again, ideally paid for by the sellers).

Ideally it should still cash flow solidly but may not appreciate quite as rapidly as the bigger market.

Some of it can be temporary, but ideally you'll want to be in markets where it can be sustained (ie. have barriers to entry).