I have one rental I can pay off possibly, and be free and clear that would increase my cashflow about $1000/month using 150k left on mortgage.

It's become increasingly more difficult with values outgrowing rents.

I am ready to expand into more properties, but I want to be able to attract more investors.  

I don’t think it’s a scam but I wouldn’t be comfortable with dealing with anyone who asks me to go through videos of the property and videos of shows to may be increase view count of the show and properties on Youtube or wherever.Even a smallest turnkey provider would be able to share tax numbers and may be an excel with numbers.

I'm reading that some people are getting hit with special assessments by their HOA that increased their insurance by 400+ a month.

hey @Mark Chetcuti, so a quick search shows that there is some legislation moving around in the EU to increase transparency on STRs plus more restrictions.There are some articles on the Brussels Times site, but a paywall keeps me from reading it.

However, the rents have not caught up to the increase in house prices which are making the metrics impossible to factor.

That said, the smaller firms are just that, smaller, with less awards banquets, and all the hoopla that can attract new agents (shiny object!!)

If you have a low DTI, sometimes lenders will just add points to your quote to make the rate look more attractive and hope that you don't notice the buy down. 

It's interesting that places with pools only increase occupancy 4% and 2% respectively.