The pipes work for a long time, and there are a lot of tricks you can learn to flush faucets and keep things working for a while. 

Many don't know about the tricks we can use when it comes to STR and even most real estate tax loopholes. 

The trick is to learn and be careful and disciplined. 

There is a MOUNTAIN of FREE and cheap resources out there to gain all this knowledge, the trick is knowing where to find it and to identify which is legit and which is BS.

The trick will be to find one that has enough rental income to offset the taxes so you can make some money.

Trick that I am learning:  work on overcoming your fears, pull leads, get on the phone, talk to sellers, local brokers, other investors, other RE partners, etc. 

Any success stories or could you please share with me some tips and tricks?

If you are good at self managing and know how to play the Airbnb/VRBO game with all the picture tricks, word gimmicks, amenities stuff and you are actively on their platforms, it seems to still be a viable market for the good investors. 

Lied to the wife about visitors and got her to spend a weekend removing all the kitchen cabinets, sanded and resealed all of them (probably my best trick since we married).

The trick is finding a market that has future growth along with a high rent to price ratio.