If you have a 2.4% rate on your first, a 2nd lien or HELOC is likely going to be your best bet to access the equity without incurring higher rates via a refinance. if you sell you wouldn't be buying a "second" property anymore. 

Between the Gatlinburg fires, cheap property tax, and the increased popularity of vacation rentals, the values are skyrocketing and is certainly a sellers market.

I really see Columbus Ohio as an extremely safe bet for the next 10-20 years.

Anything with an ASMR sound and nature is popular right now. 

If something goes sideways, I would be willing to bet 90% of these single owner LLCs formed for "asset protection" would be easily accused of piercing the corporate veil, and collapses the whole thing anyways.Depending on the state you are operating in, even if you use a Wyoming formed LLC, you will likely be required to register in the state you are operating in, which may require disclosure of that information you don't want to give up already - check to see what those states require for disclosures when registering a "foreign" LLC that is operating in the state.Literally no federal income tax benefits to where your LLC is registered. 

To arm you with a little more knowledge, the average 5-year rate of appreciation for Tampa is 9.2%, while the average 5-year rate of appreciation for Orlando is a little lower, at 8.56% That said, Orlando is a tourist hub, so my advice would be if you're looking for something short-term (AirBNB), finding a place in Orlando around the attractions could be the way to go, but if you're looking for a more long-term investment, Tampa may be your best bet.

Providing services is often more lucrative than investing on a small scale anyway.If providing services isn't your speed, your best bet will probably be to partner with someone.

Now, if you are setting up a vacation home in Palm Springs or similar, I would assume the decor is going to need to stay quite current with popular trends, so buying antiques off of Facebook probably isn't going to work.  

So what are some ways that buyers (and their brokers for that matter) can elevate their client(s) offers when they are competing on popular or HOT prospective properties against multiple and/or cash offers? 

Other popular fees are maintenance fees, release fees, eviction fees, inspection fees, and the list goes on and on.