So I guess we just stay in our own Lanes :)  AS it comes to owning rental property we for sure dont see eye to eye on that and we could never work hand in hand with rentals.. we tried one STR and sold it within 60 days Pain in the butt those are..

I'm trying to stay away from the $600+ price range.  

Start with BiggerPockets Ultimate Beginners Guide (free).

check out the book in the BiggerPockets bookstore called "Short-Term Rental, Long-Term Wealth" for the ultimate self-managing guide. 

Also, what’s working for you these days to stay ahead of the game?

Stay curious, keep learning, and embrace every opportunity that comes your way.

Airbnb has more bookings with shorrer stays and fills the holes in the calendar.

Stay blessed.

Not saying there will be issues, but they could move in, decide they hate their new job, or the layout of the house, or trash the place, and they just stay without paying or move out and move on with free temporary housing while they find something better.

Two books that would be great reads since you're just starting out would be Rich Dad Poor Dad by Robert Kiyosaki and How to Invest in Real Estate: The Ultimate Beginner's Guide to Getting Started by Brandon Turner and Joshua Dorkin.