It’s important to have a clear understanding of both hard and soft costs (labor, materials, permits, etc.) to assess your budget accurately.Projected Rental Income: Research the rental market in the area.

@Venecia BaezThe action plan for real estate investing involves setting clear goals, assessing finances, choosing a market, building a network, understanding numbers, starting small, and learning from experience.

Assess Your Goals and Current Structure: Beyond replacing your handyman team, it’s important to evaluate your portfolio’s current management framework and clarify your long-term objectives.How are responsibilities currently divided among you and any co-owners or family members?

You have to be honest with yourself, understand the risks and assess if you can afford the negative cash flow.

But of course, they are expensive and can hit you with a special assessment if they're not well-capitalized4.

If you are getting what you are from the bank, you need to step back and assess the deal. 

As @Robin Smith mentioned, for assessing demand I used FurnishedFinder.com/stats; you can see demand data for a given city and some pricing data too.

And then special assessments on condos.

Based on your assessment, it feels like the only way for you to buy something now is to make a compromise that you don't want to make or to get out over your skis a bit more than you'd like. 20 years from now, it won't make much of a difference whether you bought something today or two years from now. 

Focus on STR-friendly areas like Newburgh or Highland Lakes, and use platforms like AirDNA to assess revenue potential.