My advice would be to partner with someone who has additional funds so you can buy something that is of quality. $8k won't get you anything in a class B or A market with 20% down or even 10% down. keep going though!

A few of them also mentioned that they don't really expect this to affect the housing affordability in the county, but do believe that STRs can affect the quality and integrity of the neighborhoods in the county which they want to preserve.  

@Chris Kay finding a quality, cost-effective contractor is extremely difficult:(There are thousands of contractors that are great talkers, but rarely perform within budget.Standard bait & switch is to lowball a bid, then once they get started all sorts of things "pop up" that somehow their bid didn't cover.

Also, which choice is better for you highly depends on what your real estate goals are and the experience level & skillset of the specific agent.Traditional agent and Redfin Agent could essentially be the same thing in many cases.

Here's the problem: They are not a sustainable asset for most to own; they are difficult and costly assets to exit through a sale; if you achieve favorable refinances, you may be able to use those funds to buy other (hopefully better assets) but are now faced with operating highly leveraged bad assets. 

Be sure your lender is comfortable with this, as many fear giving folks primary loans for properties they view as having a high probability of being turned into a purely investment.

Highly doubtful that there is a NNN lease equivilatent for residential properties.

I think the key to getting a good start in REI is finding a way to have a high 9 to 5 income and using a good portion of it  invest in your real estate endeavors. 

Also North Providence is a great area, so you should have no problem finding quality tenants.

Saw some new building going on around Lawerenceville with high asking prices..close to L.A prices it seems.https://www.redfin.com/PA/Pittsburgh/4618-Carlton-...