I think we are seeing a general move to quality in STR across the Poconos and headed toward a position where 20% of the properties will generate 80% of the bookings revenue.The Pocono Mountains Visitors Bureau posts a dashboard of travel statistics that you might find interesting.  

I don't even rent to people that are here on a visitor visa, student visa, temporary work visa, etc.

If you see a complex that has "racquet" in its name...run...as those fees will be in the $400 range due to the added amenities.I have helped many Canadian winter visitors search for houses and condos, which are almost always booked for the Jan-March high season at least 8 months in advance.

The only pro to launching a STR in SB county that comes to mind is that currently, I think we're reasonably safe from STRs being banned completely here, due to the fact that there aren't really enough hotels here to accommodate the 3 million annual visitors that come to the JT National Park.

It's not that the deal itself is inherently scammy - it's that the one thing that would make any sophisticated seller run screaming, is typically the very reason why the buyer wants to do it this way (they don't have any money).This is also the big difference between buying a business this way, and buying a house - the "why".

A house with a bad old design like that screams that other issues are likely like terrible wiring, an ancient electric panel, aluminum wires, asbestos, lead paint, bad plumbing, and a creepy Norman Bate-style basement.

I'm guessing you would have screamed bloody murder if he hadn't. 

That screams HOUSE HACK.

If you check this post out, it's screaming decline across the board nationally for college and participation.

Now that that's out of the way, you don't necessarily have to be in a rush to keep taking down more properties if the numbers don't make sense, if you are unsure of the direction you want to proceed in, or if you need time to look into other strategies.Sounds like you deeply desire to work in real estate investing full time, but also feel like pursuing a higher income-earning potential as a safety net to ensure that you have the cash flow coming in to live off of as well as liquidity to make acquisitions simpler.If that is where you're at, it may make sense to shift from 50/50 or wherever your time is balanced now and go more 80/20 on your day job and lever out the REI tasks that you are doing now so that you can work on increasing your earning potential while not missing out on any screaming hot deals that may be in the pipeline.