I would stick to vacation areas that thrive off of tourism and welcome STRs year round.

My goals are to provide financial freedom for my future family and establish a sustainable safety net if physical limitations prevent me from retiring from my current W-2s.

The key is establishing routines and systems that minimize your day-to-day involvement.By using professionals, keeping investments simple, and managing your time efficiently, you can build your real estate portfolio while working full-time. 

Each step my cash took along the path of my plan was established based on how (strategy used), where (market invested in), and when (cash needed to move onto the next deal (the plan).Each step required a specific amount of added cash exiting the deal as required by the next step, so I did deals that may have a cash profit that someone else wouldn't have done because they were looking at a disconnected result. 

Start with an established team member in your desired out-of-state market.

Overall, this deal has allowed us to establish a solid foundation Lessons learned?

Older homes are typically in more established neighborhoods.

I am keen on establishing connections with fellow professionals such as entrepreneurs, builders, real estate agents, and architects operating in this domain.

This really caught me off guard and I personally felt as if this was a bad way to establish a relationship with a new client.

Not much more you can do until you establish ownershipGino