One or the other I'd say....And IMHO, electric fireplaces look cheap, even the expensive ones.....

Many of our borrowers/clients have one LLC that owns the building and another than own the operating business.

A question we faced was the exact same: Should we buy used appliances or go for new ones with warranties? 

Then continue to scale - don't try and retire off one deal

Or should I find a property first and hope that no one will get that property under contract right away?

We’ve also found that at least one of the authorities (Jefferson county) started to run some kind of property specific rental comps which can also affect the max they’re willing to pay. 

I was definitely on the fence about this one for a little while before making the purchase, but there were a number of attractive features that ultimately led me to move forward with the purchase.

@Felicia NituAlso not sure where you are getting 4.95 valuation on a development like that on one lot.

Todd KnudsonSo you rolled the property from one retirement account into another, right?

One of the first things you should do is to check the HOA rules to see if they allow STRs.