I live in a very rural area in the northeast and most of the markets within an hour of me are primarily class C and D neighborhoods with reputations for drug and crime problems (as well as my own hometown unfortunately) so I will probably look to long-distance investing as I get started.

They have made it clear to me that they refer to me because they are comfortable/confident that I will take good care of the client which reflects better back on them, keeping their reputation strong and earning them real estate referrals from the client if they end up happy with the whole experience (which is much more valuable to them than a few hundred bucks from me). 

-no reputable contractor is going to be willing to put a penalty in a contract with a brand new investor working on their first project. 

I recently found these websites when looking through tax assessor's web page.

I know that LH’s get a bad reputation, but with the leasehold till 2050, that’s 25 years of possible excellent cash flow, It’s attractive to me to invest in from that perspective alone. 

Most reputable builders are between $300 and $450 a sq ft. 

If it were a no name brand, I might be more wary, but it’s a brand with a good reputation. 

Experience or Reputation && Why?

You can't forget building a reputation with your own direct booking website and bookings.com, Mariott, etc.

I'm even hesitant to give you the web address I'm about to give you, because if you haven't looked for it and found it already before coming to the Bigger Pockets forums to ask strangers for help, you're way, way behind the eight ball.