having been around this bizz for decades now on the private lending side I will tell you many to most private lenders started in the mom and pop rental bizz tire of it and switch to be the bank.. and right now wih rates up there return would be quite handsome .. but you do need to use caution..

A couple of things I like to tell my newbies-Owning a short-term rental property can offer significant financial benefits.

I was maybe getting the property under contract.

But you cannot exchange from an investment property into your primary residence. 

Are these areas good for rental property investments, or am I barking up the wrong tree? 

(this is how it was 3 years ago when we had Florida property).

Start by leveraging your skills to identify undervalued properties, perform cost-efficient renovations, and build sweat equity.

We manage a property that was having drain field issues for awhile, got estimates and had the owner approve one of the vendors.

with private and HML  the deal is done all at once.. 

I also invest in other assets such as stocks, and private companies as well.