Up-and-coming areas: Consider areas like Heights, Fifth Ward, or Third Ward, which offer potential for growth and affordability while still attracting visitors.

My biggest suggestion would be to get seller financing and if they won't do it then only buy if its a screaming deal.

It's even tougher when you have time and other constraints, too.However, that describes virtually everyone who gets started in real estate, or at last those who post, visit or even just lurk on these forums.Paying for education is pretty typical.

There are some properties I would look at that almost break even and think its nothing more than an assets under management fee and some I would run screaming from.And I agree with your plea to pay attention to the long term not-so-invisible expenses, might not be happening here. 

Today it will be very challenging as the rates on HELOC’s will be very high.Unless you perform the labor or get a screaming deal, your chances of getting all your money out will be challenging and it may end up being near 100% financing and thus little to no cash flowNot saying it cannot be done but in high interest rate environment brrr makes it that much harder

Also I am having more and more difficulty finding insurance companies service STRs.My agent recommended a visitor covering option to my regular insurance.

The driving factor is that there are 20-30 percent more rentals on the market than there were a couple of years ago - particularly in the outlying areas - while visitors to the GSMNP has only slightly increased in 2023 over 2022.  

Things such as; toilet paper, drinking water, pet supplies, linens and hot tub chemicals and cleanings that we didn't initially factor into our Pro Forma's..The costs of these are real, but even realer are the stocking, cleaning and preparing a space for visitors in a few hours between check ins.

Also, given the size of Tulum airport compared to Cancun Airport, how much more additional visitors is this airport going to bring, also taking into account the fact that the amount of directly connected cities will be limited.2.

American visitor are not visiting due to seasonality factor.