N.G. being the cheaper fuel for heating would be true for either of these suppliers. 

Imagine investing in all new, beautiful finishes, only to discover that the drain pipes are faulty and need to be replaced—an issue that could have been identified and addressed beforehand." very true, sometimes it's like rolling a dice. 

I am wondering if you are making some assumptions that just aren't true. 

Not true.  

Nor can they see any construction plans to assess true value.

I've stuck with the tried and true reasons I've heard to keep my search ranking high (quality photos, stellar reviews, updates to my listing) and that helps but in slow season, when I'm not willing to cut my rates as much as some of my competitors, it can be a ghost town.  

. :)We definitely want to invest in true vacation rentals as well but this will be a good learning process with not as much risk to start.  

I'm not sure why that metric has held true but it still applies, the properties that perform well above that ratio are the owners that treat their STR like a business.

Hre are the key things to knowWhat you are bidding on - often oddball properties that are hard to identify and have little value are auctioned offThe true as is value of the property, The tax assessment can be way higher or way lower than the true as is valueThe local laws and how they affet your total costs and returns

If you think the money will come you quick in anything you do you’re better off just dreaming about what you want and saving your money and work for someone else to make their dream come true.