It doesn't help that interest rates are relatively high compared to the last few years and seem to be going up with the new inflation news and such. 

The key is to offer something different to the other homes, and be an attentive host, to get good reviews to boost OTA (Airbnb/vrbo) rankings. 

Hi @Adam AeroIt's good to have goals in mind.

You must have good credit.

So, make sure YOU understand the copy & paste info below:Recommend you first figure out the property Class you want to invest in, THEN figure out the corresponding location to invest in.Property Class will typically dictate the Class of tenant you get, which greatly IMPACTS rental income stability and property maintenance/damage by tenants.If you apply Class A assumptions to a Class B or C purchase, your expectations won’t be met and it may be a financial disaster.If you buy/renovate a property in Class D area to Class A standards, what quality of tenant will you get?

If it is, what kind of investment?

De Soto has high demand.

I had hoped to offset it with my capital loss carryover and haven't planned for any expense documentation etc. can I make the case that I am not a dealer because this is my first time and also have a high w2 income relative to the LLC profit? 

It's a high risk strategy that you've chosen. 

A realtor doing high volume, you don't have to use one you can poll 3-5 agents see what they do to get you the comps and then pick that person to help you.