Similar story - I'm basically writing off the 10k at this point. 

ya were we live ( personal resi) we have humungus doug fir trees 100 plus fee tall basically surrounding out lot and if one of those falls on your house it can destroy the house and if your really unlucky it can squash you..

Are there any books or resources you can recommend to get me started with the basics?

This will give you basic, reliable cash flow, without tearing your hair out.

I am also a member/subscriber of Vodessey, Short Sale Prophets Basic, and several others. 

Those are the basic steps to get your first deal.

STR without ownership is basically a STR PM job for you.  

Unluckily The “basic charge” that everyone including solar users has more than doubled in those 15 years.

And that was my understanding (the basics, at least :-)...Given that, the scenario that Bob presented in Deal 3 above seems unlikely to play out legally...

Flat fee ranges from $299 to $1999 so there’s a large area in betweenThe very basic is a listing on the local MLS.