BRRR'ing is a great strategy to build equity but it's a riskier play and time intensive if you're trying to do it out of state.

This gives you the benefits of ownership without the hassles of “landlording” or playing general contractor—in my opinion, it’s a more feasible arrangement if you’re looking to live in one state and own in another.The initial outlay can be pretty reasonable as well.

Is this the best play here?

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...

Sometimes having someone play devil's advocate is also useful.

@Nina Ning I do not play detective or require past rental payments to qualify for my units.

Two factors at play here.1) STRs generally appraise as residential homes, not as businesses based on multiples. 

Playing it safe might mean walking away if the numbers can’t improve.

To me, the best play out there right now is to go with the smaller cabins. 

Keep in mind that you'll need to qualify full doc (DTI, employment history and income will all come into play) and the property typically needs to be titled to yur personal name, not an entity.