im based out of Fort Lauderdale but I help a few clients in the West Palm Beach area.

I like land locked areas and urban markets as do most firms. look at where banks buy buildings. mostly 20 story buildings in downtown markets for a reason. asset protection and preservation so we try to do it as close as possible. there are lenders in columbus that do 100% hard money financing for renovation loans that based on experience make concessions to experience operators. we are vertically integrated though for design, build, entitlement, leasing, and brokerage so there isn't much missing. licensed general contractor. 

Operations is a game of keeping a lot of balls in the air.

You won’t end up in tax court but if you do, you would win based on everything you cited about material participation as long as you have a time and activity log that shows your tasks and provide a guest list that shows the number of nights your guests stay (easily found on the various platforms). 

We have a small fund based out of florida.

I expect if the stock market truly crashed long term the government would bail out 401Ks before STR investors based on the government's previous actions.

Development cost: this cost fluctuate a lot based on the site.

If the lender is requiring you to put 30% down on a flip, its likely because the deal itself doesn't look great and they would want you to put more 'skin in the game'. 

If not buy a house and get in the game. 

Instead, a lender will want to see that the property currently brings in (or has the potential to based on market rents) enough to cover the monthly principal, interest, taxes, insurance and HOA (if applicable).