For investors, it offers unique opportunities to maximize the value of properties and meet the growing demand for housing.

You're not going to have much luck listing your property without photos, especially if you're in a market with a lot of offerings.

Personally, I love them because they offer built-in diversification.In my experience, local banks are your best bet for financing mixed-use properties.

I recently learned that Fannie and Freddie offer financing that wasn't available to us for smaller purchases and I'd now like to pursue larger deals with this type of non-recourse financing. 

Hop on Airbnb and scan nearby properties of similar size to get a feel for what they offer at the price points charged.

Owners mistakenly ASSUME all PMCs offer the exact SAME SERVICES and PERFORM those services EXACTLY THE SAME WAY, so price is the only differentiator – so, they often select the first PMC they call or that calls them back!

Airbnb offers $3M damage protection insurance (AirCover) if guests don't pay for the damages they cause, and $1M liability insurance if a guest gets hurt or their belongings are stolen.That being said, I too do not allow instant booking or most last-minute long-term bookings out of nowhere.

@Marc Shin despite seeming to conflict each other, both @Jay Hurst and @Frank Pyle offer good points. #1 you can often find promotions for zero or low interest from furniture stores that you might want to consider. #2 many private/hard money lenders will consider furnishings if the deal, including the furnishings, falls into their deal box.Believe it or not, it might be easier to include the furnishings in the deal with a significantly lower down payment if there is other rehab work to be done.

We made an offer 50K above list price but still didn't get it.

Either way its good to buy end of year as most builders and sellers are offering seller credits or builder credits to use towards closing costs or to buy a rate down to help get a lower payment.Even if you wanted to buy a strater home like a 2-4 unit as a primary again you only need to put 5% down.