Can a long-distance investor be considered materially participating in their STR property?  

Less families/kids more disposable money, but more liberal policies and people who are more vested in the government than other institutions.  

Maybe start finding deals to wholesale, which will sharpen your deal evaluation skills and generate cash for future investments.If you find really good eals, you could even require that you participate or get a piece of the deal.

So the financial institutions get a better return  on there losses.

It appears that you are ready to participate passively.

Builders and institutional investors have responded with a number of build-to-lease projections throughout the area. 

Pinata is a popular resource that's free for tenants to use whether or not the landlord participates!

Just need landlords willing to participate in heart-centered investing.

If so, page 15, Section 5.01 F. should directly address your question: http://ccatax.ci.cleveland.oh.us/taxforms/common/rreff1124.pdfIf you should be buying in some other local jurisdictions in NE Ohio, be aware of RITAOhio.com.Each of the above root websites has a menu that gives you the list of participating jurisdictions for each.

Thank you for the valuable information @Mike Lambert  Aside from banks, is there other institutions we could get the refinance faster here in Portugal?