#10)  The birds provide a free, natural alarm clock!

Human nature is fallible and any business that exists out there is run by humans.

Most real estate agents actually do not have the need to go into an office to close transactions and meet clients at either a natural location or at the properties they are showing or listing. 

The seller seeing the interest in their land, naturally did not want to budge on the price.

You should have a good idea of every expense you have in your primary home, then add the STR specific:  (These are rough estimate numbers, depending on various factors)STR insurance - a special insurance that covers both the property and your liability, could be $2~4k in areas without natural disasters, could be more than $10k in some other areas.cleaning fee - approx. $50 per bedroom, so a 4-bedroom house will cost you about $150~200consumables - bathroom supplies, kitchen supplies, beverage supplies: $20~30 per week, depending on how much you providewear and tear - towels, linen, kitchen utensils, some furniture: $1000~2000 per yearRepairs/replacement for things that guests break or steal:  $1000~2000 per yearAlso, if your personal use is less than 14 days a year, the entire property's expense is deductible against STR income, but if you use more than 14 days, then you will have to calculate the proportion of how many days it's rented out vs how many days you or your family uses. 

Naturally, they are your competition and the daily rates need to be taken into account.

What this stems from is that the IRS requires that a taxpayer trace interest expense to the nature of how the proceeds are used. 

Hi All,My Team has added Little Rock as our third MSA.

., and I still love Cook County because I have a solid team and underwrite deals properly.I think @Paul De Luca nailed it on the head, though - it seems like you are quite risk-adverse, so maybe given your risk tolerance, it's not the best idea, but if it were me, I would not think twice about it, and find a rock start property manager who knows exactly how to vet tenants.

The houses are build rock solid with 43cm brick.