I stayed in a STR with over 200 5-star ratings, and not a single negative.

I tried using the biggerpockets rental calculator this morning and the cashflow was negative, but I may have been too conservative with the numbers.

If you pay more, you won't meet your metrics and will probably have negative cashflow and/or equity.You may have to make 10, 20 or even 100 offers to get one accepted at the price that meets your numbers.This is what all investors did BEFORE the Great Real Estate Crash of 2008-2010.

Lo and behold, many of said states will require the foreign entity to disclose owners/members and such, negating your desire for secrecy. 

But that is an other story in itself.Reminds me this concept: 2 dogs fighting over a bone while the 3rd just walks away with it.Then, traffic in my case doesn't matter.

But if you are okay with negative cash flow and want more the appreciation, new builds are definitely the way to go. 

The problem was they start a new company every few years after scamming people so it was very little negative information on the new name, Launch Your Leads.

@Jordan Moorhead I know of many single-asset syndications as well as funds that pay distributions but have negative operational cash flow.

Quote from @Anade Davis: I was not looking to say anything negative but the energy is off.

Also, the fees plus being a forced buyer with a deadline on a 1031 exchange may negate the small tax savings.