Your focus on location and terms over price resonates, these are often the most important factors for long-term success, and it’s clear you’ve mastered that.I also appreciate how you made small improvements while living in the properties to increase their appeal as rentals.

Vegas SMF is almost always the exact opposite of that. 30+ year old buildings, in less desirable neighborhoods, with flat/flatter roofs and often with shoddy exterior siding. 3) The ideal SMF would be one of those brick mansions they build in the Midwest that look like new for 50+ years, in an area with better weather.  

LTRs require finding tenants much less often, but they also have a large pool of possible residents that understand the process and a large buffet of online places to source them.

After a good stretch in real estate, I’ve found that the best deals often come from great conversations.

You could spend as much money as a CPA costs in missed opportunities because you don't have good optics into your business, or because your tax returns (often used by lenders to qualify you for loans) don't maximize your opportunities.

For your "BRRRR in Bulk" approach, you might want to explore lenders that specialize in portfolio or DSCR (Debt Service Coverage Ratio) loans, as they are often more flexible with complex financing structures like seller 2nd notes.

It could be the tenant doesn't like to fully close the door because it gets too steamy in the shower.Water leaks can be tricky, but in my rentals, more often than not, it is an action by the tenant and not a plumbing or poor construction job.  

For my situation being away from home so often(I'm a Michigan resident), this would still allow me to participate in real estate but be diversified beyond a syndication.

I would disagree with number 2 - in this environment, heavy rate buydowns are a common tool in the toolkit for lenders and borrowers to make deals work and are in no way indicative of "not being well-capitalized"That’s a fair point in regards to doing a buy down, we see that quite often but we roll the buy down into the loan so those aren’t paid at closing, thus not costing the borrower funds out of pocket at the time of purchase or refinance. 

New construction in appreciating areas offers long-term value growth, minimal repairs, and potential tax benefits, but often comes with higher purchase prices and slimmer initial cash flow.