You need to pay attention to things like rental demand, upcoming developments, and overall area growth potential.

If I can get 2 different renters in before Jan 1 2025-is still possible by obviously getting a cost seg.Also, would all of the house hunting, going out to see properties, research (calling city for license/map searching) and buying the furnishings count toward the 1 of 7 qualifications IRS demands in addition to the 2 Airbnb bookings-preparing home, cleaning, set up etc?

While prices are low (under $200k), there's absolutely a rental demand - especially for working class and professional tenants who aren't ready to buy.

He can't loan you any part of the 3.5% down and you can get seller contributions to cover closing costs, etc.Just food for thought...

Im open to conventional financing or seller financing.To find properties, you can network with local agents and brokers, join local real estate investment groups, use online platforms like Zillow, Realtor.com, and Redfin, send direct mail campaigns, drive for dollars, network with property managers, and explore seller financing.Good luck!

From my research so far, it seems the demand is pretty high in general for STR's, I was also looking at San Antonio but would prefer to be in Florida and Jacksonville is the city in Florida that fits my budget, interested to hear from anyone who may know more about STR's there and to connect with anyone.

@Rachel Seymour-NewtonIf the smaller property is a strong deal with solid cash flow and tenant demand, it could make sense to buy now and start gaining experience.

Quote from @Sam Epperson: let's say I come to an agreement with the seller for them to finance some of the deal. let's also pretend the seller owns it with no debt, and we agree to 5% down, 5% rate, and 10 year balloon. how are we drafting this legal document?

Over my time (over 30 years), if your lender will make a call to the seller/seller's rep to explain the level of due diligence we've done on the buyer usually goes a long way.

Existing mobile home parks are in high demand for all investors large and small.