Avoiding accessive PM fees (personally I recommend most people self-manage)These will eat away at your ROI.

I've sold over 80 homes personally in the last 30 months and I'm usually within $5k of the appraisal report when I run my CMA for clients.

I am hoping to be an asset to experienced investors, with the intention of learning as much as I can, so that I can start building a portfolio of my own.

Just my personal opinion - get a mentor or a person who already has good experience running STR business, preferably in your area (but not 100% required). 

I have known and worked with Matt for years.I have attended his training and hired him as a consultant.He is hands down the best at what he does.I have personally raised over $50 million for my hard money lending company.I am grateful for a lot of people who helping me with this success and Matt is at or near the top of that list.

We take a "whole person" approach.

Point noted about not being able to underwrite without seeing things in person.

We make people take photos of themselves holding their ID and then I also meet them in person for the showing - at least for my units on the NW side of Chicago.I've never heard of these testers, but I am not surprised. 

They clearly had no intention of paying off the loan in October but sought instead to further reduce their loan balance during a time of the note holder's personal hardship.

Explore my personal favorites, Set For Life by Scott Trench or The Total Money Makeover by Dave Ramsey, for invaluable financial insights.3.