I'm going to follow this to see what tips folks provide.MikeHey Mike, I am actively investing there so feel free to reach out with any questions!   

Bought it as a safe bet thinking it would do roughly $35k annually in short term rents.

We do want to settle in a little bit here while continuing to do our homework, but hope to get into something in the next 6-12 months.With the way interest rates are looking now and what little I see on public listings, I think a smaller multi-family that needs a little rehab would be the best bet. 

Real Estate values, nationally, have never decreased over any 10 years. https://fred.stlouisfed.org/series/MSPUSFocus on optimizing active income first.

The best way to connect and learn is to be in rooms where it's going down.In terms of captial your best bet is to focus on a primary income that cash flow sufficiently, saving as much as you can and doing something real estate related so you can get familiar with the industry.

Now if you've followed things this far kudos, and I bet your feeling some lumps.

Your best/safest bet would be a regular lease combined with an option to purchase.

Income from leveraged real estate or active business income.

Usually its a safer bet.

@Victor Yang To use the rental losses to offset any active income (W2), you'd have meet Real Estate Professional status (which would be difficult to do with a W2 job because you'd have to work more on real estate than any other job to qualify) OR have an AGI of $150K or less.