If you are talking about property taxes, you're going to pay those no matter how you are using the home.Beyond that, I suspect most true STRs in Colorado, like most states, are purchased and put on the market solely for business purposes, not as wealthy homeowners renting out their own personal vacation home.In any case, I'm not the enemy here and you don't need to convince me one way or the other; I own my own STR.

I have worked with very wealthy individuals who are philanthropic (not care to make a huge gain) would have looked at 5% as no big deal as long as it is a steady and guaranteed return. 

Over time, I have seen that appreciation is where the real wealth is built. 

You have to compete with all cash Chinese buyers, and any good deal is eyed by numerous wealthy investors and gets snapped up quickly? 

And you really need out west 5k to 50k acres to really have a decent size parcel to hunt big game on.I see it as the province of the very wealthy and who will also usually have stocked ponds be it Trout in the north or Bass in warmer areas..  

It is a working relationship.My tenants aren't wealthy by any means, my average tenant probably makes $11-12/hour, but that doesn't mean they are desperate.

So for me I want a little bit of both, some cash flow and some appreciation, not negative cash flow but not negligible appreciation either, because increased wealth is what makes it all worthwhile to me so projected IRR is a much better metric to use than the 1% rule.

For me the life insurance route was the best option by miles and miles and it has made my family wealthy.)

That being said it has great potential to do the opposite and make you wealthy over time

Really defining what your definition of wealth is can (1) provide that continuous motivation to save towards your goals and (2) help prevent you from spending on things that diverge from your goals due to “shiny object syndrome”.Again, I think your on the right path and kudos to you!