Start with BiggerPockets Ultimate Beginners Guide (free).

Unless you are sourcing properties yourself off-market, REI became much more challenging in 2023, and downright brutal since the start of 2024 here.   

If you just hire the cheapest or first PMC you speak with and it turns into a bad experience, please don’t assume ALL PMC’s are bad and start trashing PMC’s in general.

This is where things will start. 

Quote from @Celli Mowery: Hi Jamesinteresting message -I know I’ve seen your name often on the Bluegrass Investors GroupI have spent the last 5 years investing in London and while some of the concerns you mentioned did exist when we started I’m finding we haven’t had issues with tradesmen coming from Lexington & Richmond for us in recent years.

The PM company is starting to kick a little better lately but we had a rough 2024.Always remember that every positive and negative experience when taken well is an opportunity to grow as a person and to learn something valuable. 

It’s a little more work to set up, but if you get a solid property manager, it’s not as scary as it sounds.If I were you, I’d keep digging into the Capitol region, NJ, and CT—compare the numbers, and maybe even start building connections with agents or wholesalers in those areas.

So they opened up the wall to start the door, and immediately the HOA opposed it. 

I think a good starting point would be looking at the comps in your area (recently renovated or new construction homes) that sold around your desired sale price and in your desired timeframe and taking inspiration from there design choices. 

Regarding getting started, I recommend finding an STR owner who's overwhelmed or just worn out with managing their property, and perhaps who's also not using a dynamic pricing tool, and then offering to manage it for a very small cost.