That is a popular way to get started in real estate.

This probably isn't as popular with the forum, but when I take over new properties and want to raise the rents, I'll go to the established tenants with some listings that clearly demonstrate market rates and ask them what they think is fair. 

Side note: According to many Game Theory principles, once a strategy has become too popular, there is little to no arbitrage left to be had, considering risk. 

That's fully rehabbed turnkey, you shouldn't be seeing any big repairs or replacements for 10+ years, and your maintenance costs should be 5% or less (though most folks use a slightly more conservative estimate, 15% is overkill).I'm not personally familiar with FL markets, but I'm given to understand they are pretty popular, so that means someone is making it work, somewhere.

Hi BP,I know self directed IRA's are a popular option for those looking to use retirement funds to invest in real estate.

You can also try investing in property bundle in another country, using one of the popular crowdfunding platforms.

I don't see a lot of rentals that are this small, so is this because they aren't good as rentals or are they pretty popular and rent very quickly?

The popular, "it is hard to beat the market so minimize fees" approach. 

This little town is really popular year round so I don’t think short term rental will be a problem.Even though I’ve probably read 15 books on real estate investing recently, I’m afraid to move forward without some advice from people who have done this before.

However, with increased popularity comes increased competition.