With the right strategy, it can become the foundation for building wealth.

Keep in mind that only the "building basis" can be segregated and will benefit from accelerated depreciation.

But I’d say the key to success is building a reliable team on the ground.

But if you/your team like to spend some time building your own flow, feel like it's better to build it on go high level directly. 

Condos don't appreciate at the same rate as single family homes, and you are always a newly elected board away from STRs getting banned in your building. 

In my market, which is a fairly economical place to build, I am friends with full time builders that are in their properties about $150k/door for construction level finishes.  

A reserve is unnecessary, but I still keep around $15,000 - $20,000 in my account.The point is, that you should sit down and assess your finances to determine what the worst-case scenario may look like, how much you would need to cover it without impacting your life, and whether you will need to build a reserve.

Instead of platforms like Angi, try building relationships directly with contractors, architects, and developers.

I do not think they regulate this strictly on other industries like food service, or even medical.Sounds like the mayor or city planner or someone "important" had a bad stay at a STR somewhere.

You're better off focusing on specific markets, specific neighborhoods, analyzing numbers, and building an ideal buy [box].