What do their calendars look like, what is their nightly rate and amenities they offer.Look at the pricing of places you are interested in and run some numbers. for get STR in Vegas go mid term rental  those will bring in basically as much if not more than STR with not nearly the hassle and  such..

One investment basically failed.

"Time on task over time"....there's no "easy" button. 

I just completed my first rehab deal, and I still cashflow, but I can't afford property management without basically negating the rest.

Perform the same task in each app to ensure a fair comparison.Load a property with pictures and details.Market that property.See what your marketing looks like from the public's perspective.Submit a fake application to see how easy the process is.Run a credit/screening report on yourself.Enter a maintenance request, assign a vendor, and attach a fake invoice.Enter charges to the tenant's ledger.Enter recurring charges and automatic late fees.Sign documents electronically.Run owner reports.After testing a few apps, one should clearly stand out.

Basically, he negotiated with buyers to put down a larger deposit upfront, which he then used to fund part of the construction costs.

I hate texting (prefer phone calls) and struggle with the marketing task.

But you basically have a growth phase, a consolidation phase and a drew phase.Each one has different goals.

However, tenants have not been great, basically late on rent and/or leaving repairs that eat all profits.

As with any type of investment, investors should list the estimated costs to calculate their potential profit.Costs to consider on fix-and-flipsRepairs (always be conservative)Carrying costs (interest, points)Monthly costs (utilities, HOAs, insurance, taxes)Buying costs (back taxes, cash for keys, liens, code violations)Selling costs (commissions, closing costs, transfer fees, title insurance)Unexpected costs (add $5,000 to be safe)These are the basic costs investors should consider.