I would greatly appreciate any guidance or experiences you can share to help me make an informed decision.

Every time you toss the coin, the experiment starts over. 50/50 every time.Not because you send out 3000 mailers does it mean you WILL make 1 deal.If you have a motivated (enough) seller in your list, sure, perhaps... but who told you that if you send 1000 mailers there is one motivated seller, in the mix, and if you send 10,000 mailers you have 10 motivated sellers in that list?

I’d love to hear your thoughts, experiences, and any advice you can share.

My vision for CountOnCam LLC is to be a company that would like to provide a shared housing experience for women and children, immigrants, and low income families.

Yale Law Journal: Zoned Out: How Zoning Law Undermines Family Law’s Functional TurnLooking forward to hearing your thoughts and experiences on navigating zoning laws for co-living investments!

In our experience, the #1 mistake owners make when selecting a Property Management Company (PMC) is ASSUMING instead of CONFIRMING.It's often a case of not doing enough research, as they don't know what they don't know!

But I would remain open to long-term rental as an option as this seems like a more stable option in terms of income, again this may be my inexperience talking.However, I have always  been somewhat risk averse and investing in real estate is always a big venture, in my opinion/experience, in terms of capital.

This has been my experience and I live in an ultra-competitive market.

If you pay cash, you don't have a payment, but effectively you are giving up an income stream if the cash had been in a bond or ETF and earning you either interest or appreciation. 

It is also worth noting that property management is often closer to 30% of gross rent for a short-term rental due to the much more intensive hands-on management compared to a typical 10% for long-term and as such, I agree with recommendations above that medium term rentals may provide the best of both worlds if you are able to tailor proximity to a local need, e.g. hospitals and travel nurses.Again, happy to relay my personal experiences in the area if you're interested.Best of luck,Patrick