I'm thankful that I made a decision to self manage. even at a  distance I think it helps you avoid a lot of headaches

Get a team to help you through every aspect of the deal.

Personally, I always try to avoid general statements that could be misleading.

Most of those STR-specific risks are avoidable. 

To avoid reducing your lifetime exemption, you could gift equity incrementally, but this requires proper legal structuring (e.g., fractional ownership transfers).

To avoid going through the same poor experience, keep reading.Even if someone gives you a referral here, do NOT make the mistake of assuming that the PMC will meet your expectations, just because they met the expectations of the referral source.In our experience, the #1 mistake owners make when selecting a Property Management Company (PMC) is ASSUMING instead of CONFIRMING.It's often a case of not doing enough research, as they don't know what they don't know!

@Lauren Ruppert Yes, an LLC can sell a property to your child’s LLC, ideally at fair market value (FMV) to avoid gift tax complications.

There's zero reason to do this when there are plenty of options to avoid it. 

Folks still like gas for cooking and it can be used for the fireplace to avoid wood/sparks/soot/etc.

Fortunately I stopped borrowing on bridge debt a very long time ago so I've managed to avoid some of the distress you are seeing today as these bridge loans are maturing.