I think a daily allocation of 15-30 minutes for thoughtful communication on top of automations is probably a good starting point.An example that comes to mind is modifying an automated message going out for something personal that the guest shared with you in their communication so it has a warmer touch but the bulk of the lifting is still the base guest messaging.

I’m currently based in San Francisco, California.

DSCR if the house can support itself based on the lenders criteria.  

I am based out of Janesville, but spend quite a bit of time in Madison as well.

This may sound crazy, but I own another STR in this particular market, and the reason I think this might actually be possible in based on the value of my other similar property.

Now the debate of where rates "should be" would be based on the quality of product each person/owner offers. 

Fees realtive to a low loan amount are always going to seem high - a lot of them are fixed and don't vary based on loan amount.

It's good for segmenting leads based on criteria such as location, types of properties they are interested in, budget, etc.

Slow stable controlled growth of a portfolio lowers the risk as a broken furnace is spread across a greater cash flow base.  

Although they are not Credit Unions- I am familiar with a few local lenders who can lend based on DSCR standards with a purchase price minimum of $75k (so  ~~$56k min loan amount).