The biggest question I would ask is how well they know the area such as neighborhoods and do they have connections to building a CORE 4 such as great contractors, property managers, attorneys, etc

I ended up entrusting five properties to their management, and I know of two other out-of-state investors who used them as well.

I'd be happy to include you on our list as well so you could such receive weekly snapshots.

I think tax benefits should be secondary to buying something that would work well as a STR.I would recommend you consult a tax professional to see what possible tax benefits you could receive from buying this STR.

I'd try those 2 as well! 

It costs roughly $100/mo but is well worth the expense.  

One thing to think about is when doing heloc on primary if you want to refinance you need to get their signoff as well as your primary loan which could cause complications.  

Quote from @Dustin Wilkes: Well hello there everyone.  

I know the market pretty well.

@Shafi Noss Improving the land would be the simplest since there's already a driveway, electricity, and an old water well that needs to be jetted again.