.** Small towns may rely too much on a single business or market segment.

To maximize the odds of always having a reliable tenant, buy a property that attracts a tenant segment with a high concentration of reliable people.How do you find a tenant segment with a high concentration of reliable people?

For the next properties I purchased, I first identified a tenant segment with a high concentration of reliable tenants.

That makes a lot of sense for the different types of distinctions and figuring out how to talk to each. 

@Nicole LockwoodNo real distinction between buying an STR property and just ... buying a property in general.

While I agree that I think there is a segment of wealthy individuals who pay good money to keep themselves "hidden" --- whatever they do. 

But before you rush your decision, you need to realize one critical distinction: treating this transaction as a business allows you to deduct all business expenses against this income.

Stocks and real estate have distinct risk profiles, so the choice you choose should be based on how comfortable you are with risk.Diversification: Take into account how crucial it is for your entire portfolio to be diverse.

When people have mentioned that in this thread they failed to make the distinction that the appraisal only "sticks" if the new buyer is getting an FHA loan also. 

At 26, having 4 properties and looking for more is quite the story.KeyBank man should be ashamed of himself.I'd disagree with some of the assumptions in this thread.Rate locks don't need to be for more than 30 days.  45 days can cost you a quarter point depending on the lender and it's really not necessary.Always remember that origination points and discount points are two distinctly different things.For us, some origination fees can be just 2 points and some are just 3 points.