Build yourself a Google business page, make yourself easily bookable on Airbnb (did you know that 25% of nights booked on Airbnb are for 30 day stays and more? 

You DO NOT ever finance the property to a buyer/tenant with the intention or hope that they don’t stay in the property.

Staying consistent is the key.

Building a compset and diving into the details about the competition, cleaning fees, length of stay, and really, seeing who is out ther doing STR versus MTR etc. 

Its certainly not "guaranteed return" - thats a word to always stay away from in real estate (in finance or even investing in general)high level - its because HMLs are going to be secured by the real estate, meaning in event of default, the lender can get the property to be made whole - somewhat trust is involved, but thats the main mechanism behind it

Instead of paying 1250$ a month and staying in my current home I can pay 977$ per month and have an additional 4br/2 bath property. 

When you are new as an investor, you also don't want to work with a new agent (you).Overall, I think a RE license is good for access (to homes to get reps and to the MLS) and I think the course itself is way more valuable for investors than agents (most just stay in residential and don't need to use all the weird stuff you learn).

We stay there about 1 week a month and do STR the rest of the time. 

I wish I had even half your discipline when I was 16.

Makes an amazing shot of espresso, and pretty much idiot proof so long as you have your cleaner stay on top of the cleaning and maintenance.