It's not for everyone because of the more hands on management it entails but the returns can blow most long term rentals out of the water right now.

You can have Home Owners and Flood Insurance and the Big Bad Wolf will blow your house down and then, you need to pay a lawyer to try to collect damages from Insurance who may never pay you. 

As someone who reports to sec for our loan portfolio - blows my mind how loans held for sale must be reconciled and valued frequently where as held for investment never have to be adjusted.

They don't have an incentive or fee to enable them to blow me off, do unnecessary work, or otherwise nickel and dime me or the tenant. 

This is one reason I always advocate commercial loans (where the loan officer has a little more say and flexibility) and using the same bank as much as possible, so your relationship can give sway when less desirable situations arrive.

Or would an appraiser do a new appraisal and put down 5 units blowing it?

It makes the same argument for not purchasing unleveraged as I advocate.  

Enjoy connecting with fellow self storage advocates and operators.

Side note your phone will blow up with all the notifications from Airbnb so be prepared for that. 

Hey Eli, to play devil's advocate here, consider whether you truly want a real estate side hustle of buying properties directly and becoming a landlord, or if you just want the investment benefits of adding real estate to your portfolio (cash flow, appreciation, tax benefits).