@David Hedges why dont you just play the odds?

But I’m afraid I’ll play the safe bets and there are only two options. 1) Purchase to short term rent in an accepting community.

Sounds to me like you are either speaking with a local conservative bank, or a misinformed individual.If you want to "play the credit game", one simple option is to open a credit card or 2, but don't use it. 

Really easy to just play the blame game at this point.You might just have to eat it.

This is what I see as an interesting play the next 5 years. 

Can’t play the game without understanding the rules.

I know the margin might not be great, but we're willing to play the long game on this part of town. 

They’ll be requiring financials up front. as wayne states unless your being paid for site aquasition buy a company.. ( I did this in the 80s for a big syndicator) this is a complete waste of your time and energy.. folks that own and buy these are looking to do business with commercial brokers like Joel above you will have a hard time getting past first base on this one.stick to SFR's and unsophisticated sellers and buyers.. that's were wholesalers play the best. 

They are just looking somewhere to put their money and play the appreciation game.

Louis blues were in town to play the knights.