@Martti Eckert in our opinion, you'll need to be really familiar with construction, including costs, or be able to find somoen on the ground you can REALLY trust (but still verify).

The flood insurance has also been extremely unpredictable at any of these beaches, so that's a bit of a curve ball.

Those are great places for meeting people who hopefully at some point will know, love, and trust you and will refer you business. 

If you don't already have boots-on-the-ground and a trusted network, it's going to be tougher to do.

Personally, after working with numerous property managers in Las Vegas, I only trust two to handle this task for my properties.Compliance Is ComplicatedProperty management involves navigating a maze of city, state, and federal regulations.

If we include investments in mortgage loans (trust deeds), real estate partnerships, REITs as well as direct property ownership, I’m at about 80%.  

Agree with all above,Gap funding is a great strategy for those that work efficiently and have a team that they trust.

Verifying last 2 years of rental history and income extremely important to find the “best of the worst”.Make sure you understand the Class of properties you are looking at and the corresponding results to expect.

Always Always Always get an inspection if your not going to view it yourself and get someone out there that you trust to look at it for you.

Fatal mistake to buy that on the forward curve.My recommendation would be to get out of this position; the STR is in an extremely oversaturated market and the underlying asset is a clone of many.