As Pari said, you can learn notes and earn more than that, or if you want mailbox money and do no work, JV with a note investor and you can get 12%+ and your money is not tied up for years but on average 12-18 months (or less) depending on the deal. 

I think it depends on your state. 

Depends.

But it is my understanding from these companies that a landlord policy does not cover STR or any renters under 30/60/120 days depending on who you talk to.

Perform the same task in each app to ensure a fair comparison.Load a property with pictures and details.Market that property.See what your marketing looks like from the public's perspective.Submit a fake application to see how easy the process is.Run a credit/screening report on yourself.Enter a maintenance request, assign a vendor, and attach a fake invoice.Enter charges to the tenant's ledger.Enter recurring charges and automatic late fees.Sign documents electronically.Run owner reports.After testing a few apps, one should clearly stand out.

Perform the same task in each app to ensure a fair comparison.Load a property with pictures and details.Market that property.See what your marketing looks like from the public's perspective.Submit a fake application to see how easy the process is.Run a credit/screening report on yourself.Enter a maintenance request, assign a vendor, and attach a fake invoice.Enter charges to the tenant's ledger.Enter recurring charges and automatic late fees.Sign documents electronically.Run owner reports.After testing a few apps, one should clearly stand out.

It all depends on the time of the year. 

Do one task at a time in each app so you can compare apples to apples.Load a property with pictures and details.Market that property.See what your marketing looks like from the public's perspective.Submit a fake application to see how easy the process is.

I would say it depends, but I lean toward yes. 

To me this is very market dependent and product dependent.. in our Market some developments that are red hot that Lennar owns they might only offer 5k on a 600k sale.