I’m in the Syracuse ny area It’s important to figure out your goals and objectives, and then that will ultimately give you a few areas that you can narrow it down to.

I would like to expand into real estate to further that objective but my primary motivation is that I'm bored with my W2 job and need a bigger challenge.

Your question makes me want to check my state rules (Illinois), because I've thought many times that I might as well manage other people's STRs if I have all the processes set up to manage mine anyway.Finding a cleaning crew for 1 STR is difficult, but 5 is easy. 

Has completely crushed rehab budget and set us back significantly in timeline.

However, ideally if we started both with the understanding that collaborations and building the right team in conjunction for planning for our larger future and objectives we'd get to the "freedom" that we are all actually chasing via RE that much faster. 

Go to some networking events in both areas, get on some wholesaler buyers lists, and have an agent set you up with an automated search on the MLS so you can start to follow trends both on and off market. 

Is there another way to set this up when starting your LLC in the first place? 

If you know the right people you can buy in these states and set up a trustworthy management or mobile manager to help with the up keep and maintenance. 

Quote from @Senen anthony Virocel: Quote from @Mackenzie Grate: How did you set this up?

In a recent post about how to minimize the taxes on rental income it was mentioned that: Setting aside reserves is an expense, so long as they are not excessive.