-I'm fairly careful with communication , but again, I know doing business online is way riskier, but I want to ask: Typically, I would trust someone who seems very in-depth, informative (gives statistics and numbers), and basically would give me thorough steps (including worst-case scenarios and what would best fit my situation)^^would people who have experience say that even with the above, some agents/lenders/PMs would still be sort of out to get your money and do a lousy job?

Finding some sort of value-add aspect or buying at a discount means you either create or walk into equity, which protects you.

It is crucial that you select a company that provides a “quality” cost segregation study as determined by the IRS.

-- sort of depends where you live and if you want to invest out of state / have the ability to manage a team remotely, the best out of state investors are very active in managing their teams.

(which I feel like a couple of these other comments talking negatively didn’t at all) If you just show up, they basically hold you by the hand in terms of market selection, deal analysis, financing, design, setup, the listing, pricing strategies, management, etc.

Once you have selected this market, begin doing researching on the current regulations as well as the political climate regarding STRs in that market and whether or not there are any upcoming proposals on the market docket that may shift or change the current regulations.

Pretty much the core of the STR business.Higher your rank gets, you can increase your price and be more picky in selecting customers which usually lead to a better review / less party or complaints / less expense and higher profit with a happy life.I know some people will argue, but the ranking system is the truth and should be the only guide to your STR journey. 

Never buy without personally inspecting and approving the property and INDEPENDENTLY, INDEPENDENTLY, INDEPENDENTLY, verifying everything from values to market rates, to approving tenant selection procedures and standards, to repairmen on standby, to everything else in Christendom that you can thing of.I am not a fan of out-of-state investing, especially for those with less than 50 years of experience, and for them, they’re probably too old for the hassle. 

Some tenants even sort based on sub-structure so just making sure all of the details are as precise as possible. 

Read what they are posting to sort out who is experienced and who is not.Podcasts.