They must satisfy "material participation" test for their STRs to utilize the strategy.

@John Lasher Have you considered the BRRRR strategy? 

I wouldn’t purchase anything out of state without first getting a thorough inspection, establishing a trusted team on the ground, and having a solid exit strategy in case things don’t go as planned.

I would recommend you talk to @McKenzie Stouffer - she knows a lot about STR strategy! 

It also gave me the chance to experiment with short-term rentals before transitioning to a long-term hold, reinforcing my strategy for growing a real estate portfolio.

You'll likely also reduce your cost of living by moving to a stabilized apartment.Depending on the cashflow and debt paydown, you can use this strategy until you've built enough equity to reinvest.On the other hand, getting into a multi-family after refinancing will also help you build substantial equity to rinse and repeat in the coming years.

As others hinted 20K does not leave you a lot of room and would narrow down what strategy you can use.

Even if someone in these forums were to teach you a creative financing strategy that required zero out of pocket cash and the seller was willing to accept those deal terms, you still aren’t qualified to own real estate with your current balance sheet.

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