I would first check if STRs are allowed in the areas you're considering.

Once you have some baseline knowledge, the next step is to take action - that's the only way to build experience.

It's required now with the new regulations.

My real estate journey started with a single investment property in Putnam County, Florida, and I'm actively working to expand my portfolio and acquire my next property soon.

The key is vetting your lender properly—asking the right questions, understanding the terms, and ensuring the numbers make sense for your strategy. 

I have high equity in my current duplex so planning on using that to fund down payment for the next property.  

Using a 203k, you'll usually have quite a bit of equity that in 1-2 years you should be able to refi out of the FHA loan product into a conventional removing the MI associated with FHA loan products. 

Trust documents are not required to be publicly recorded, ensuring that details about the trust remain private.2.

I figured the PM would definitely be local to the area of the property and would need different PM's for each area, those were just the areas I'd like to invest in. 

Quote from @Eli Fazzo: Hey Bp family, I’m looking to move to Lexington, South Carolina area within the next year or so.