A lot of the success stories and content we’ve seen in the past came from a very different rate environment, so I’m definitely factoring that into my approach.For now, I’m planning to focus on the Jackson County/MO area, specifically around Lee’s Summit where I have some local support from family.

From my understanding, as long as you intend on doing a STR when you close, there are no rules against changing your strategy after closing, especially if you find that something else is more profitable.So in our case, the lender determined an STR would bring in ~$3500/month (with all of their conservative factors), but now that we operate it as a huge 3300 sqft Co-Living property, it actually brings in $7000/month.

There are many factors, as with any real estate market:(1) Location. 

While less than 10% of the mortgage industry offers 40-year mortgages, here's something to factor in: they often come in with a rate increase of 20-35 bps.Assume 35 bps.$300k mortgage at 7.25% (30-year): $2,046$300k mortgage at 7.6% (40-year): $1,996Technically, it lowers the monthly, but not by much once factoring in the rate adjustment.

Building a solid team is another crucial factor.

What factors should I consider when making this decision?

This includes flooring, painting, bathroom upgrades new light fixtures, usually there’s about $800 in electrical costs factored in here and all new cabinet hardware.

Keep them under my existing Superhost personal account, or set up a new branded account that could stay with the complex forever. 

@Abdul HafeezRates and LTV depend on many factors. 

I own a small multifamily commercial in Albuquerque and can confirm the diversity of the economic and cultural factors that you mentioned.