vacancy is an imaginary cost that you estimate upfront to ensure your investment can sustain itself and actually make money. you do not need to put aside any amount of money every month, as long as you have a reserve account with enough to cover your mortgage payment when the time comes. to make life easier, some investors will put this percentage aside every month to fund their reserve account, but it truly can come from your pocket, a line of credit, or any other vehicle you use.

Keep in mind that we were in a market that was not normal and not sustainable we are just retreating back to a normal market were market time is normally 90 days for DOM .. that's been more normal.. its not normal to list a property and have 17 offers first day.. and along with that its the time of year it always slows down right about now.. the turn key folks I know though are still plowing through their inventory.. as investors are buying for cash flow and as long as the numbers work they pull the trigger.

Would love to hear more about how you decided to get started and whether you see STR as a sustainable long term strategy.

There are exceptions, of course (one extremely notable one), on both sides - however the real talent that builds value is by the numbers, somewhere else.I've had some anecdotal experience with very dysfunctional policing, and societal expectations that are not inclusive, and do not value a policy framework that fixes the below:Rampant non sustainable 'pockets' of extreme generational poverty, irreversible income and wealth disparities. 

What key info columns would you suggest to make work flow sustainable???

The main idea is to chose a strategy thar resonates best with you and work hard on it until you excel in it!

If it resonates with you, pick up his book, even if you're not investing out of state.

There is absolutely no guarantee that these increases will be sustainable, Bend is just the 'hip' place again.  

Most places in the midwest the population is declining - my immediate concern is whether or not this type of growth is truly sustainable.

Without these key people, we could never sustain the work flow I was bringing in.