They all had a very strong competitive advantage and focused on growing.

Your first step should be building a strong team: an investor friendly agent, lender, contractor, and property manager are key.

Strong rental performance & return Lessons learned?

I strongly encourage finding a fairly priced, knowledgable accountant you can trust. 

Great area with strong rent demand How did you find this deal and how did you negotiate it?

From experience, proper planning, strong insurance coverage, and networking with experienced investors are key to making the most of an LLC for your investments.Good luck!

Having a strong understanding of your "walk away" price (maximum you're willing to pay) gives you leverage and prevents emotional decisions. 

That being said, if you look at the smaller cabins (900 to 1,200 sq ft), I think the numbers are still very strong. 

I agree, shorter-term plays are tough in the current environment, and patience paired with a strong strategy often leads to success, unfortunately this is a strategy that a lot of real estate investors don’t really have the experience and the patience to follow.

So it serves multiple purposes and I would strongly encourage it