I live in Asheville and am looking at STR in the Franklin area - agree with other posters that it's sort of between more desirable destinations, but also seems that the lower prices reflect that.

Taking these two pieces of info will tell you how long you will take to get an offer, so if you go past that you should lower the price, and then the other action item would be to starting off lower than all the other properties if the condition is better than your condition.

Question: Should I collateralize the loan (if using private or hard money), or rely on roll-over loans (to maximize the lower points and 3-4% rate)?

You would then weigh out a lower closing price due to the bitcoins and then you would use the lower price as the principal for the loan. 

You’re able to learn the basics of a real estate investment with lower risk and build equity at the same time.

Most hosts just lower their prices when things get rough but guests just want am interesting experience. 

In general higher cost neighborhoods are safer than lower cost neighborhoods.

Since new builds require upfront capital, you might not see immediate returns, but lower maintenance costs and higher rents typically make up for it long term.If you're serious about scaling with BTR, make sure you connect with experienced builders, property managers, and lenders who understand the strategy.

Again, different strategies but in my opinion the larger you get the lower the risk you want and as others have pointed out I think your deals in the build to rent sector or with larger tract builders is where we focus and probably others as well. maybe this was a special deal. in a few weeks once we get the appraisal back on an infill lot we have I'll show you how we made almost a million dollars on a site that's 0.1 acres and urban with very little risk backed by appraisals. we didn't have to wait 18 months or invest 500k either. we barely needed a capital partner too and every deal we entitle we would develop.

Yes, that means he will have to give up his 3.5% rate (or whatever it is assuming lower then today rates) but it is what it is.