@Delmar Marsh JrAs you begin your investing career I would suggest using this website to get a general idea of the area you are looking to invest in. https://www.areavibes.com/Its a great starting point and gives you a whole list of data that you can look through. 

Or is it best to work with an attorney and pay the extra money?

The most recent data show that record momentum continues for the residential rental industry especially for the short-term rental industry, with year-over-year bookings now exceeding pre-pandemic levels.The complexity of the problem hinges on the definitions of “short-term” versus “long-term” rentals for tax purposes.

Hi Matthew,This data is a macro look at median sales price of all property types within those four cities limits.

Your problem is likely in the data you relied on for your expected return and their experience.

Could the rental places through in some small extra by doing the same?

You can type in the properties address and it pulls data from airbnb and other short term site to give you from what I've read a pretty accurate estimation of Occupancy rates and income.

I only have 7 months of data, but other hosts say Padsplit tries to at least keep everyone as close to 80% as possible. 

Explaining the reason for the increase and providing some market data to show how rental prices in the area have risen could make things clearer for the tenant.

I tell my Colorado STR clients to pay the extra for a designer.