That is what I do and it is very rewarding and lucrative.  

Land development can be a little complex but certainly can be rewarding once you figure it out.

I know pets can be a pain because of the damage they can do, but if you are diligent about quarterly, semi-annual, etc inspections and have a good lease that allows you to not only charge pet deposits, fees and rents, but also allows you to charge for damages found on those inspections, then you will do alright.As far as people not cleaning up the common areas around them when a pet makes a mess...I have found offering a reward concession to neighbors for telling on a tenant works wonderful.

Eliminating interest expenses and lowering your minimum monthly payments can help improve your overall credit, which in turn could allow you to qualify for better mortgage rates and features when you do buy a new home.Risk/Reward Trade-OffsIf you’re holding cash for an extended time horizon — not months, but years — your risk/reward balance may shift toward other investments, including stocks, bonds or mutual funds.

Does the reward outweigh the risk? 

If the market is ggood, you reap the reward when you sell it if not appreciation is all up in air. 

As others have mentioned, it is a high-risk, high-reward industry.As I learn more about the real estate side of things I have begun to create a list of many questions of my own - a lot of them related to the finance side of land development.

Even low LTV HML seems to be better in terms of reward/risk like you said. 

Given your comments --- why take all that risk for no reward?

Additional STR advantages:- significantly easier to self manage- you can leverage 10% down if buying in a market you like to vacation to- you are providing an awesome place/experience for someone to spend their hard earned money on, so it is extremely rewarding.