The other half is because I'm inexperienced and getting outbid by other investors.

@Nathan Frost uhm, not sure you understand Detroit market.Motion lights & cameras may work half the time at best.Too many insurance claims will get you cancelled and eventually black-balled.But, what do we know after 24 years in the Detroit market...

The payment method in the original post of this thread sounds like a half scam!

Half assed truths exists forever on the internet. 

—half the battle is the mindset, and you’ve got that nailed.Start with the basics: understand your market, run the numbers, and don’t be afraid to ask questions.

BUT we aren't alleging either that we have 38 children, that we're both half Native American, or that one of us served in a war that ended before either of us were born.

By the time he was 16, he had a half dozen part time employees and ads in paper to do various handyman stuff including hanging Christmas decorations, assembling ikea furniture, gardening, painting, building fences, etC.Then came the demon child.  

I’ve had this issue multiple times in different rentals and the easiest, the most obvious, and sometimes the only, way to figure out what’s going is to open up the ceiling where it’s leaked.

Quote from @Bruce Woodruff: Generally speaking, the Keurig style are the best and easiest for a STR.

Taxes are half the cost compared to CA and insurance is lower if not by the water.