If they complain to you about a guest problem (noise, whatever) apologize, deal with it, then send them a big gift basket or something.Better yet, run your STR somewhere without an HOA

traffic, noise.....I stay away from it...

I'm eager to go out and grind and make that first deal just have a few more things to feel comfortable about before doing so.

@Charlie DiLisio good to see you are still grinding!   

The Musks of the world have an ax to grind and often swim upstream just because they are in the habit, not because they are exercising critical thinking skills.My view of the right order is to get a good education, get a job with benefits, suck it up and learn for a few years, hopefully something that may help you if you do think real estate is a path you can take - and then buy a house of your own. 

Splitting it feels like it would grind my progress to a halt. 

the only metrics that matter in reality, vs just marketing noise... are DOM and list vs sell price...In Ca especially we are overrun with hobby realtors... 

@Christi Hawkins  Much like the auto industry  do we think everyone pays the exact amount for a vehicle .. do we think someone who sits there and grinds away for 8 hours might pay a little less than someone not as familiar or as good as another in grinding the salesmen the manager who gets the hand off and the close.this is why I LOVE Tesla you buy on line price is the price for all of us.. and it takes exactly 3 to 10 minutes to buy the car.. its GENIUS.. and why its such a threat to big auto... if you have not been on the Tesla site check it out see how easy it is to buy a car.. the finance part is auto matic too just put in name rank serial number and your approved almost instantly..you do need to put 2500 down on your credit card then they configure and produce your car..

Noise issues are all repairable.

I don't know how you're supposed to know what's noise and what are listings even worth looking at.