Further, we need to account for a $10k “reserve” for what will be repairs / maintenance as the property ages.  

Thank you so much for sharing your story, I'm glad to see you chose the Success Stories thread because this is truly a success story and here's why •You had enough in reserves or in an emergency fund or the ability to get enough money somehow to fix these issues and that is HUGE in itself.

its just human nature and reality..

The market can be tricky with its block-by-block nature, but it's been a great fit for all-cash purchases like yours.I also have a team on the ground in Detroit that helps manage everything from finding deals to overseeing rehabs, which is crucial for out-of-state investors.

There were issues syncing the reservation calendar, and it is nearly impossible to reach a customer support representative with Booking.com as an individual STR owner.

I would suggest you be as genuine and natural as possible.

Otherwise, if you have plenty of reserves, then it's probably not worth the time in my opinion. 

go to lots and lots of meetups.2. talk to those HMLs and find out what their terms are.3. save up enough so that you have a down payment, reserves, and also enough in cash for the hold period. 

Due to the nature of the STR property criteria in Cape Coral, it's very rare that a STR could be converted to a successful LTR.

There are lots of things that can go wrong for which you should have reserves.