Look at the published allocations that have been made in the last 3 years and pick a developer that constantly makes the list.

Rented, Inc published a study in July that rated the Smoky Mountains is ranked #4 in the USA for best return on investments.

What is the published bid and what were you offering on the short sale?

The companies publish all the normal annual reports and other filings as required by the exchange or the SEC.

Caution is warranted as there are a lot of charlatans out there who make money by taking newbie investors' money in exchange for "teaching" some basic principles to which you already have access for free on this website and from other online and published sources. 

The higher the risk, the higher the expected returns.That said, if you want to focus on Cap Rates, CBRE publishes data bi-annually for numerous metro areas across several real estate sectors.

@Matthew SwearingenThere are no rules either at the condo or any of the government levels preventing you from doing short-term rentals and it's very unlikely there'll be any anytime soon.I already responded regarding agents and lenders in the other post you published today.

Congrats on the success so far, check out this article I published recently here on BiggerPockets thats perfect for your exact need - all the options, pros/cons, etc. of financing STRShttps://www.biggerpockets.com/blog/short-term-rental-loans-a...

@Geoffrey CornelsenMany note investors also publish "case studies" on deals that they've completed. 

@J Scott, I read the book that Josh published recently - that was a really cool document.