Multifamily property management is quite different than single family, I have done both. 

We have a potential buyer of a lot in St Augustine, FL who would like to build a new single family short term rental.

The property is a single family home that is on sale for $179,000. 

Yes. build to rent in urban core adjacent neighborhoods. traditionally in our market in Columbus Ohio existing inventory was good 2014-2020. as prices rose, the cost to build started to match existing inventory prices because of supply shortage, especially for 2-4 multiunit dwellings. around that time we started to look at new construction and land. we found that land is a 12 month or more supply in our market which makes it a buyers market and you can design any structure you want in new construction. if you like a layout or floorplan all you have to do is design it. after that we looked at the right unit mix and Floorplans and layouts. we started looking at high rent per square foot layouts that were better than single family.

I believe you can also utilize an independent savings account, but you should check with the bank to make sure.

Then there are the challenges with Section 8 tenants paying utilities and taking care of their rental property.

All-In Costs & Profitability-ARV: $450K-Purchase Price (financed): $170K-Repairs: $150K-Holding Costs & Financing: ~$20K–$30K (insurance, taxes, utilities, interest, etc.)

Meanwhile pay little or no taxes utilizing depreciation.

In almost all cases when investors first come to us we say utilize the conventional route as much as you can. 

We're underwriting all my single tenant industrial to an 8 cap exit right now.