(Quality) Contractor relationships have been the hardest piece of the puzzle for me in Austin. 

The piece I am really puzzled by is the financing piece.

Hi Kate,Here are some items:- Propane grill anchored into the ground so guests can't move it- We buy DVDs at garage sales and do that instead of cable and also get a Smart TV with HDMI so guests can bring their Roku or Fire stick- Boardgames and puzzles- Schlage Encode wireless lock. 

I had looked into cash-out refi-ing before, but ran into the ~548k maximum loan as a blocker (which in hindsight is puzzling, because it looks like the LA county jumbo loan threshold is ~822k)BONUS: What would you do in my shoes?

It's only a very small piece of the puzzle when it comes to analyzing a potential STR buy.

There are so many pieces to the property management puzzle that it can be overwhelming.

Your sister should use this as a learning opportunity and ask other agents / her broker to help her through this puzzle. 

I appreciate your perspectives/guidance; very helpful.Fyi, the thing I’ve always found puzzling is how some markets can have rent that is so expensive in relation to a monthly mortgage payment.  

Having reserves is also a huge piece of the puzzle that isn’t talked about often.

It seems like PM is such an important piece of the puzzle.