It was an eye sore but i knew it was a gem.  

How much those units will affect the AirBnb and VRBO markets is yet to be seen but my guess would be that during peak seasons (UofA home games, gem show, ect.) you can expect to see lower occupancy than the past or potentially need to lower rates to compete.

Are you having any luck finding any gems in Spokane?

Welcome,always nice to see another member from Tampa on board.This is a great time to begin in Tampa,there are still plenty of under priced gems in certain neighborhoods here.Besides all the great information here on BP I recommend looking at a ten year price chart for each house your interested in and see what they were selling for(or the estimated value) in 2006-2007.Some free realty sites like Zillow include charts,estimated sale and rent value.They are very rough estimates though that are within a 20% margin of error,there are plenty of errors but it is helpful to gauge the sentiment in the neighborhood. 

Between that gem and the guy recommending a net listing I just have to laugh at some of the "advice" on this site.

similar to numerous people John represents, it’s extremely difficult to compete against local people that have all the tools and knowledge unless you have someone right on top of everything.My approach is similar to what Amber said, I look for hidden gems and opportunities to turn something into a cash flow cow that hasn’t been realized.  

I've been investing in Hamilton a long time & despite the competition level raising in the market for the last 3-4 years straight, I still am able to uncover gems.

Finding these short-term rental gems is getting more and more competitive, but you can still find investments that will return you double or triple what a long term rental will do if you buy right, and use a very low cost management company, or self manage. 

I found them both through Loopnet so these weren't some hidden gems, one was on the market almost 2 years.

I often find gem's that look really ugly but really just need painting, carpet and surface work.