According to Jamie and his team, the STR market is healthy, strong, and sustainable at this point.As an owner of STRs and advisor to clients who are also owners, this was a refreshing listen on BP. 

You will always need the OTAs to help you build and refresh your email list but over time the dependency will shrink and you’ll create a solid independent direct booking business.

.- Refresh & Reinvest Expounding a little on the topic above, vacation rental ownership is not a set it and forget it.

As someone mentioned there are a number of outdated properties in the Emerald Coast and especially Gulf Shores needing a refresh. 

Does anyone have any recommendations, or leads to a contractor for a minor rehab (paint, cabinets and door install/ repair, laminate flooring install, a minor refresh overall)?

Say you don't know the market, so you buy a SFH in a solid neighborhood, that maybe just needs a refresh and not a rehab, and say your W2 income doesn't support your primary + this new purchase, so you have to get a DSCR loan.  

I am bilingual fluent in both English and Japanese. 

I'm paying about the same to live in my house as I was splitting a 1-bedroom apartment with a roommate, but now I'm seeing that appreciation, sweat equity, and tax benefits you touched on.I love reading comments and posts like yours to give me a refresher on why I got into a house hack in the first place.

Whether it's written down or not, it just gives you a quick refresher to "check all of the boxes" before pulling the tigger.

I am hoping that it just needs some paint and refreshing, and some kitchen updates :) There's also been some big maintenance items that the tenants hadn't notified me of in the past.