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.

To invest now, look at strong rental markets where more folks are moving in.

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).

Pick the kind of place to buy, like houses, buildings with many homes, or places for businesses, based on what you want, how much you can spend, and how much risk you can handle.

As for the numbers, we’re seeing $150,000 single-family homes in Decatur yield $1,250+ in monthly gross rents, so there are definitely some strong candidates for cash flow in the area.

We were nervous about signing up with a huge national firm as we are a very small home-based service business.

The issue that you have, is that your guests experience will depent greatly based on the demographic that the motel building brings.I would pass and try to get a small multi-family building or see if you can buy the whole motel(to have more control).

I assumed I could cashflow for 20% or more, so I want to see if I need to adjust my expectations based on the experience of others. 

Given your question however, I get the sense that this might be your first time managing a project like this and so would strongly advise that you connect with a General Contractor that you can trust as it will end up saving you a lot of time and money over doing it on your.

I have a great base of knowledge, I have a real estate license in Idaho and an Insurance license in Utah.