I think the "sweet spot" is going to be getting in early, right as the "pain" is first being released and as all the big $ starts doing acquisitions. 

If the property would perform well as an STR, the owner will make more money if they hire a legit STR manager and pocket the profits instead of handing them over to this fly by night operator for arbitrage.If it doesn't do well, the operator can just break lease and disappear.

As someone in the game for more than 30 years, there are cities I have always been interested in, but have no interest in a one-off for myself so this is a great opportunity to get exposure in a market without any of the operational pain.4.

After receiving these funds, he and his partner has completely disappeared, leaving us with no communication or updates for over 2.5 years.

Hi all, So I just bought my first investment property in PA in the Scranton area a few months ago! 

Also, since they have written so many more in recent years than ever before (historically speaking) the problem will only escalate as more and more homeowners come to realize all their equity disappeared into these when they go to sell. 

I have to budget for other expenses (repairs, maintenance, etc.) out of pocket.We are coming from Seattle which is a more expensive market and we have the cash to be able to do this, but I hear your pain - when you are starting out, that might not be a good idea.  

With $170k to deploy you most likely will have that all in one, maybe two deals, if it doesn’t go well you could end up way worse off.That said, if there are other factors like the property is a huge pain to manage or you are worried the neighborhood may actually get worse or you know you need a new roof in a couple years, then I’d consider selling.Also, even though you said it’s not a high appreciating area, do you think 1-2% is fair?

What is the most pain free (and, ideally, tax-free) way to accomplish this?

Think of potential pain points or ongoing vendor tasks that you can keep an eye on remotely with cameras in addition to security.