I worry about not ever being able to see the property in person and relying on managers to let me know what is going on.

You can attempt to renegotiate with the seller without relying on one of the contract contingencies but the seller has no obligation to do this and will almost certainly say no (I would say no in this scenario). 

It’s what they rely on as their collateral, not your  STR business and the spread you can make relative to a traditional leasehold interest property. 

I also relied heavily on the appraisal report as a 3rd party verification that all information was accurately presented to me. 

I always had the notion that anyone can learn anything if they just take the time and do their own training and research.....I agree with the "paying a guru", but I think people on sites like BP rely too much on themselves and their research.

I know of some options where you can go to non-traditional lenders and use a DSCR (debt service coverage ratio) loans and you may be able to leverage that money and not have to rely on your credit to get approved.      

What better and easier way to do that then get these stupid laws passed.OK, rant done.I agree with Ann on some of the issues she raised, keeping in mind that some of those laws/rules only apply to owner occupant loans, not investor loans, however, lending in your own area where you know your market will help keep you safer, no question about it.As for not having to market for borrowers if using a broker, I would have to toss this out - you will be doing a lot less business if you rely on brokers to find your borrowers.

It's worth trying if you already have an account since it's free, but I would never rely on it even if I had an account.

The information contained in this post is not to be relied upon. 

I then went on to bring in friends and family to buy the next few properties (they became down payment partners) but I would not recommend this if you do not have a solid team that you can rely on.