This can lead to more opportunities and partnerships.Market Understanding: As a property manager, you'll gain a deeper understanding of the local market, which can be invaluable when you start acquiring your own properties.Steady Income Stream: Property management can provide a consistent income, which can be particularly beneficial in the early stages of your real estate venture.Skill Development: You'll develop a range of skills from customer service to maintenance oversight, which are crucial for successful property ownership.Brand Recognition: Establishing a presence as a reliable property management company can boost your reputation, making it easier to attract tenants and investors when you start acquiring properties.Cons:Time Commitment: Property management can be time-consuming, especially if you're dealing with multiple properties or demanding clients.Regulatory Compliance: Staying compliant with local laws and regulations requires diligence and can be complex.Conflict Resolution: Dealing with tenant issues and conflicts is an inevitable part of property management and can sometimes be challenging.Financial Risk: There are financial risks involved, including late payments or damage to properties.Market Fluctuations: The property market can be unpredictable, affecting both rental income and property values.Overall, starting with a property management company can be a smart way to enter the real estate space, especially in an area with a clear need for such services.

We aren't zoned for a campground or RV park nor do we want to pursue changing the zoning to that, but keeping it low-key and low-density it doesn't attract attention, nor are we putting massive cap ex into it.

All with 55% down.Generally speaking, a location that is near a National Park or major attraction(s) are going to be the better locations for STRs. 

So now is a good time to buy if you leverage your ability to put a good amount down and close...that is attractive to sellers that are eager to get out of their property. 

The $35,000 investment was carefully managed to avoid over-improving while still delivering an attractive property that resonated with buyers.

Honestly, it does open up the amount of renters you attract to. 

Many companies charge lower initial fees which makes it easier to attract new owners but then charge inspection fees, after hours fees, fees for additional services etc.

My day job industry (Solar) has attracted some interesting characters over the years so I'm no stranger to the effect a few bad apples can have.

If your market has a significant number of FHA or VA loans with zero to low down payments where a buyer can't afford to pay their agent out of pocket, your sellers may end up cutting off a significant portion of the home buying market, or once they do come around to considering negotiating on BAC, they may feel deceived, and now you may lose the potential for the recurring client that will ultimately otherwise drive your seller lead acquisition cost down.For planning: In a great business, a good rule of thumb is to estimate:100% Gross Income35% Cost of Sale30% Expenses35% Profit <-- very few businesses achieve this, but we're looking at an ideal solutionAssuming a national price average of $300k and 0.6% GCI, you'd be looking at:$1,800 Gross Income$630 Cost of Sale <-- agents/ transaction coordinators$540 Expenses <-- photos/ signs/ lockboxes/ Errors & Omissions insurance/ MLS fees/ liability insurance/ tech fees/ VA admin support/ marketing to get clients for the business (this piece should be roughly 10% of revenue, which would be $54 in this case)$630k ProfitIf your business sold 1,000 of these homes a year, you would have:$1,800,000 Gross Income$630k Cost of Sale <-- agents/ transaction coordinators (you could have 5 agents handling 200 sales each at $100k incomes and TC support at scale)$540k Expenses <-- photos/ signs/ lockboxes/ Errors & Omissions insurance/ MLS fees/ liability insurance/ tech fees/ VA admin support/ marketing to get clients for the business (you're going to est $125k in runner fees alone for signs; $25k+ in signs, $54k in ads to attract clients, $200k in photos, $10-20k minimum in E&O, $2k in liability, and what tech/ VA support)$630k Profit Scale costs will include hiring a managing broker for compliance to help oversee all of these transactions and implement legal changes and training.

Another option is to have him seller finance at a rate and term attractive enough for him to offset the capital gain.