Also any tips for automating this as much as possible and how to protect the property financially and property management would be appreciated.I ALMOST understand the rental arbitrage strategy if building a company scaling with say 30 + units and looking for high short term cash flow.  

There's no step by step guide but there are key things : Learn: RE strategies, what interests you, what do people in your area need.Connect: find a mentor, accountability group and be around those doing what you want to do.Help: solve problems- do people need dealflow, property mgmt, construction expertise, etc. 

This next investment for us will be our first venture into STRs (or even a MTR).

Are STRs in this area still delivering strong cash flow?

With the current mortgage rate constraints affecting how many buyers are willing to enter the market we are seeing a lot of borrowers have success with the BRRRR strategy with plans to sell in the next 3-5 years when interest rates go down.Researching potential LTR and STR rental amounts and seeing if holding for a few years is a viable option is a good analysis to do well. 

I got into this mess as I got an email from Wagner in September 9, 2021 when they send me an email regarding new construction at Ocala.

From what you said, you have been stuck in analysis paralysis because you are too spreadsheet-centric.

For Conventional, you can only use 75% of the gross rent until you have Sched E history for the rental for a net rental income analysis. 

It sounds like the 2 BR floor plan makes this process even more difficult.

Thank you for letting us know a little about yourself and your interests.