With the use of VRBO, Booking.com and direct bookings can all raise your chances of staying booked and being successful.  

I’ve read a couple books but I am always willing to learn… Also if you were 21 , what would you have done differently?

You're reading a 10 chapter book and tryin to skip the first 4. 

I love that this boiler room clown, Dutch "da loser" Mendenhall, titled his book Money Shackles then used it to put himself on the road to a real set of shackles.

Read a book, or even a blog like this one:  Application Screening GuideIf the landlord had called the previous landlord (me) they would have immediately denied her."

However, their lease is up in two months, so I would only focus on non-renewal for now.In my book, I explain methods for removing tenants without evicting them through court.

I don't mind setting things up on platforms like AirBNB and VBRO and even setting up my own website for direct bookings. 

Also, for me 30+ bookings tend to be less profitable even though there are less vacancies.  

I have read the BRRRR book as well as some other investment books and though I am aware that the author recommends buying properties with all cash, I am still torn between going that route or going with traditional financing instead (or perhaps even a "hybrid" of those two options; saving up to put 40 to even 50% down or more to get higher cash flow and more equity right away, while also being able to forego the waiting process of building up enough capital to invest all-cash in another property again (assuming I don't use a hard-money loan).

I have two properties in the Blue Hills area, which have historically done well.