I walked all the nearby comps, gave the seller my opion/list of what his property was "missing" (fenced yard, light staging, add a 3 board fence panel and landscaping here...) and advised him to get a surveyor to mark the lot corners...The previous agent had not suggested they get a surveyor to mark the lot corners when he bought the property to flip....there's a chance the house or driveway may encroach the neighboring property.  

Why would someone buy now and make little money for the chance that the rates will adjust later?

I don't think anyone predicted that.I've always thought for rentals it's better to buy a $250,000 house and hope for the chance it goes to $350,000 than buy a $500,000 house hoping it goes to $750,000. 

With the use of VRBO, Booking.com and direct bookings can all raise your chances of staying booked and being successful.  

I want to minimize my leverage as much as I can for my first one, just to give me the best chance of success.Got it, @Geoff Engel!

-The right “how” will attract the right “who” and discourage and weed out the wrong “who”.Me and my property management team developed the a 40-Point Complete Household System to not leave the “how” to chance.

There's a good chance the issue(s) you face has already been discussed and answered.Ask questions in the appropriate forum.

Greater chance for success versus another location. 

In the OFF-chance (not as common), you're looking to get into a DSCR loan...there are ways to get no origination or processing fee by originating your own loan (yes this is possible and you can do it in 39 states without a license).

I think the more people that call them we might have a chance of opening 1 big class action lawsuit.