Recommend you first figure out the property Class you want to invest in, THEN figure out the corresponding location to invest in.Property Class will typically dictate the Class of tenant you get, which greatly IMPACTS rental income stability and property maintenance/damage by tenants.If you apply Class A assumptions to a Class B or C purchase, your expectations won’t be met and it may be a financial disaster.If you buy/renovate a property in Class D area to Class A standards, what quality of tenant will you get?

When rent is too low it speeds up the leasing.   

We are able to get great incentives and the ability to own an investment property that take a very light maintenance budget for the first few years is a huge plus.  

However, I did take issue with the tone of the message, especially the part where they told me how they’d be paying rent.For context, there are no outstanding maintenance or repair issues, so I’m unsure what the tenant is referring to. 

I own a property management company in WA, including Yakima.Here’s a rough breakdown of costs:- Management: 15-30% of revenue- Cleaning: $100-$200 per turnover- Utilities: $150-$300/month- Maintenance: 5-10% of revenue- Insurance: $1,500-$3,000/yearTools like AirDNA or Mashvisor can give you a solid idea of income and occupancy.

Also, what are some other low cost amenities that I can add to my STR that will yield a higher ROI?

We are hoping to streamline tenant communications, maintenance requests, and payment records. 

Tenants should certainly take responsibility for maintaining the property and promptly informing the landlord of any maintenance concerns.

We don't need sprinklers here, but if we would, I'd either do that or replace the lawn with gravel or something else maintenance free.

I would tell people today that if you buy a primary residence expect to stay in that home for atleast five years, especially with a FHA loan which has lower down payment as the current forecasts for home appreciation or very low which with closing costs on the buy and sell, it will take several years to have equity in the property and enough to be able to sell, so that is something also to consider.