My experience in Massachusetts, where it took nearly a year to evict a non-paying tenant, has made me more selective about the locations I invest in.I am looking forward to learning and sharing insights with this community! 

Since you're in Destin, you might want to check with local firms that have experience with STR-heavy communities, as they’ll be familiar with the risks and requirements.

You save money, you get experience, and then you buy your own in a year.

Traditional bank loans can be slow and have strict requirements, while hard money and private lending seem to offer more flexibility.For those who’ve secured funding before, what’s been your experience?

Is the property just a regular-style house or something you can build an experience around?  

Thank you  The good GCs charge 20% but this does not equate to your savings because the GC will have better contacts, have namer experience coordinating contractors, be more familiar with permit process and expectations of the inspectors.  

Gives you experience and a feel for what's involved.

Just my personal experience.

Ask an attorney for the cost breakdown, factor in holding costs, assume they'll do more damage on the way out and then ask for a bit more for the headache.But again, especially with no experience with evictions and it sounding like a mess, I would be very tempted to just walk if the tenant is not going to cooperate. 

You don't need to know everything to get started; you need a foundation to build on, and the rest will come through experience and then refining your education.You can build a basic understanding of investing in 3-6 months.