I appreciate that, and you're right, any back-of-the-envelope calculation suggests that much of the wealth comes from the equity accumulation, even in the earlier stages of the amortization schedule.

We got our required and expected profit that we calculated at the very beginning.

Even if you want to roll the dice, at least is a calculated risk, not a surprise down the road. 

Understand the fees involved and calculate the total cost for an entire year of management so you can compare the different managers.

I agree with you that calculating a reasonable average is the better strategy.

Many times their cash flow calculation is using flawed underwriting.  

I'm also looking to get my hands on a good calculator for short term rentals since I'm terrible with Excel and only have a calculator for long term rentals that I know is missing sections that are specific to short term.Any help you can give me would be very much appreciated :) BiggerPockets has an Airbnb calculator, and I see that you're a pro member.Since you've read the STR book and done other education, you know HOW to pick a market lol.

Rough calculations on what I need to be looking for:90k deal (purchase and renovations to get max rent)20% down = 18k from me80% bank loan at 8%, 20 yr amortization = 72k-------------------------------------------------- Here's my DSCR calculation:Calculate Net Operating Income (NOI):Monthly rent: $125040% expense ratio (taxes, insurance, repairs, vacancy) = $480NOI: $1250 - $500 = $750Calculate Monthly Mortgage Payment:Loan Amount: $75,000Interest Rate: 8% per year (0.08/12 = 0.006667 monthly)Loan Term: 20 years (20 * 12 = 240 months)Monthly Payment ≈ $627.83Calculate DSCR:DSCR = NOI / Monthly Mortgage PaymentDSCR = $750 / $627.83DSCR ≈ 1.20Therefore, with a $75,000 mortgage at 8% interest over 20 years, the DSCR is approximately 1.20

Understand the fees involved and calculate the total cost for an entire year of management so you can compare the different managers.

I used the lower of rent amounts for analysis. https://www.biggerpockets.com/analysis/rentals/ee5f6928-93ce... is link to the BP Calculation on it.