The short version is that you want a strong and diverse job market, low unemployment rates, a growing population, low vacancy rates and new development, affordability/cost of living, real estate laws and court system, good schools, and low crime.Check out the videos from Dave Meyers with BiggerPockets.

I am but a short drive in the pocono mountains / scranton area.

I wanted to help them out and minimize their loss and saw an opportunity to get a property slightly below market because of my commission savings, immediate mortgage and maintenance relief, in addition to keeping a lower short term interest rate How did you find this deal and how did you negotiate it?

We all have short memories lots in that part of SWF have been a yo yo in values for decades when the market is hot they go up when it cools they drop to 5 to 20k per lot.  08 09 saw builders in those market go poof.. builders from SE flooded there built a ton of inventory and could not sell it in the GFC I was buying brand new houses at foreclosure in 09 for 30 to 50k each.

The short answer to you question is yes. 

Hello Joshua, we invest in West Texas area, all short-term rentals (4 1/2 years experience).

Lenders or investors who have short lock up periods but have years of experience feeding their business with new capital would give me more comfort but anyone who is just starting and is promising a rate of return or return of capital in a set period of time would be alarming because they very well could be reliant on fresh capital to make good on that promise and that usually ends poorly.

Quote from @Anil Shah:  Short answer - if they originate a loan that they want to sell to Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac, they need to follow their guidelines.

Purchase price: $530,000 Cash invested: $100,000 My journey into short-term rentals began after years of investing in long-term properties, but it was a podcast that opened my eyes to the incredible potential returns of STRs.

If you're worried about finding tenants, focus on a location with strong rental demand, list rooms on platforms like Facebook Marketplace or Furnished Finder, and consider mid-term or short-term rentals if long-term tenants are hard to find.Good luck!