Once you have a clear picture of what your goals are, seek out a mentor who's already achieved what you're aiming for.

As that will at least help folks that you reach out to know that you are a real person, with a picture and professional bio.

Not pictures for me to tell, but a light cosmetic rehab should run you at least $30k. 

I could pay a regular marketing firm to build a site, but since so many STR owners have this need, I have to imagine there's an off the shelf option rather than having a custom site built.

Even deleting the Builder left me 30% higher than I expected on this small, custom home. 

I'm hanging in there and building a strong relationship to build my rental portfolio and care for my customers. 

I talked with one homeowner that said she received a postcard with a picture of her house on it.

That high down payment of $100,000 also helps reduce the risk quite a bit since it gives you a good chunk of cash right away and reduces the loan amount your buyer needs.To get a clearer picture of your return on investment (ROI) and your annualized ROI (CAGR), let's break it down step-by-step.### Initial Calculations- **Initial investment:** You bought the house for $235,000.- **Sales price:** $315,000.- **Down payment received:** $100,000.### Loan Details (After Down Payment)- **Amount financed:** Sales price - down payment = $315,000 - $100,000 = $215,000.- **Monthly payment from buyer:** $1,394.49.- **Loan term:** 30 years (360 months).### Calculating Total Returns- **Total payments received over 30 years:** $1,394.49 x 360 = $501,816.40.- **Total amount received (including down payment):** $501,816.40 + $100,000 = $601,816.40.### Calculating ROI- **Total profit (not accounting for costs like maintenance, taxes, etc.):** Total amount received - initial investment = $601,816.40 - $235,000 = $366,816.40.- **ROI over 30 years:** ($366,816.40 / $235,000) x 100 = 156.09%.### Calculating Annualized ROI (CAGR)The formula for CAGR (Compound Annual Growth Rate) is:\[ CAGR = \left(\frac{Final\ Value}{Initial\ Value}\right)^{\frac{1}{Number\ of\ Years}} - 1 \]In your case:\[ CAGR = \left(\frac{\$601,816.40}{\$235,000}\right)^{\frac{1}{30}} - 1 \]Let's calculate this:\[ CAGR = \left(\frac{601816.40}{235000}\right)^{\frac{1}{30}} - 1 \]\[ CAGR = (2.56)^{\frac{1}{30}} - 1 \]\[ CAGR \approx 1.0303 - 1 \]\[ CAGR \approx 0.0303 \text{ or } 3.03\% \]This means your annualized return is about 3.03% each year over 30 years.

do they take pictures?

If you have not found a rental, we can discuss more about it and provide pictures.