Her's a short list (there are others):Bigger Groups:Propelio - probably the most popular group currently. 

I'll be short and sweet as I imagine there are tons of new Intros every day here.

What have been your hardest lessons learned in short term rentals?

owner finance with short term balloons for someone who cannot substantiate very strong financials today is highly unlikely to pay you off.the only way I have had this happen.. is relative came up with the doughor in one case my lessee worked for a company that converted ownership to all employees and they got about 600k in stock which they sold and paid me off ( 300K) 

And @Dave Van Horn has a fund or some version of NPN and performing notes. 3. you can invest with your local HML ( hard money lender) who will be doing short term 24 months or less rehab loans.4.

That was always something that intrigued me. 20% down necessary on something like that..or if it’s a short flip can you put lower down in hopes of gaining much more back? 

Years ago my wife and I met, and I discovered she wanted to own buy and hold homes the same way I did to generate cash flow.

With my investments, everything is geared towards short-term stays, and I don't worry about things getting damaged because it's all meant to be replaceable.  

Shortly after this post I purchased, renovated, and rented my first property.

So glad you've discovered Bigger Pockets early in your real estate investing journey...and it looks like you've already made some good contacts here from your area....A few tips that may be helpful to you here on the BP website:You can set up keyword alerts so anytime someone posts about KC, Enterprise, or any of the specific markets you're evaluating, you'll be notified.