Your energy will take you far in this business.

Stick to it.Real estate investing is tough and those who say it isn't tough either have never bought a property or are trying to justify how much time, money and energy they’ve spent to get the meager success they have.

They also usually are more energy efficient as the water is heated as needed and not heated to store in a tank that might not be used for many hours and tanked heaters typically have heated more water than needed (and this is desired because running out of hot water is a bummer).I do not want an annual maintenance effort as large as descaling a tankless water heater at my rentals.  

Sensi Touch 2 Smart Thermostat with Touchscreen Color Display, Programmable, Wi-Fi, Data Privacy, Mobile App, Easy DIY, Works with Alexa, Energy Star Certified, ST76, C-Wire Required, New for 20234.4 out of 5 stars 167300+ bought in past month$156.62$156.62 List: $209.99$209.99FREE delivery Tue, Jan 9Or fastest delivery Sat, Jan 6Works with AlexaI just looked up lockable smart thermostat. 

We've never had a rental property before, but we are handy and I do have some time/energy to put into such a thing.We have a house in the Boston metro area that's worth around $900k.

Alternatively, you could install energy-efficient fixtures and appliances to help keep utility costs down for both units.

There's nothing wrong with doing virtual walkthroughs in my opinion IF you already have a relationship built with that broker AND you have a good idea of what you're doing.From a broker's perspective, if I'm spending my time, energy, gas, resources, network, analysis, etc. on a client that is either not making serious offers and/or is spending more quantity vs. quality - then I may be averse to walking every single property.

And the lack of issues when using VRBO means you save a LOT of time and money...every little issue sucks your time and energy, and energy/time=money.

I renovated the house to have energy efficient windows, doors, and energy source (solar panels).

They are energy efficient and help reduce the monthly heating bills.