I position my inspections as 'planning for future repairs/improvements' which mitigates that whole 'he's here to get my security deposit' mindset.And, I would rather have the tenant with me than to have him later claim that something was broken during the inspection.  

Your challenges unfortunately are not that uncommon.   

Challenges?

Appraiser will check the rent schedule and if there were any improvements done.4.

I'm curious to connect with any other STR/ MTR owners in that area to get more info on resources that are in the area and what challenges/ successes you have had there. 

@Deirdre Lizio see a lot of competiting PMCs start with a pledge of doing it better than "what's out there".Always interesting to revisit them 3-5 years later - after they've experienced the reality of challenging tenants AND owners.Look no further than Evernest: they started out with flat fee management at $99/month and promises of better & fairer service & pricing.Now they're at 10%, capped at $199/month - wonder what changed?

My plan for this year is improve my credit, get my real estate license (to increase my income on top of my W-2), possibly career transition into the property management space (to learn more), and save as much as possible and learn as much as I can.I’d love to house hack close to home but my area is so expensive it seems like it’d be close to impossible. 

Look at their finishes and what they offer guests, use that as your baseline, then improve upon it.

So much so that when we do come across that all-to-rare exception of a person who's grinding at improving there life, to elevate, it's notice, it's a shocker, and we go the extra mile to really help them if and where we can. 

Maybe we can exchange insights and strategies to help each other navigate the challenges of getting started.Looking forward to staying connected!