Here's what we do (copied from our website):Screening ApplicantsPoor screening often results in lost rents, legal & court costs and costly damages.Screening of applicants includes the following:Full credit/eviction/criminal checks are done, instead of score-driven reportsVerification of rental history includes validation of actual property owner to avoid fraudVerification of stability of income & employment via YTD paystubs & W-2(s) (analyzed to confirm not fakes)Income is calculated 3 ways to spot stability anomalies: pay period, YTD average and YTD + W-2 average.Debt-to-income analysis (more accurate than traditional 3x rent requirement)Bank statement to see if NSF issues, if deposits support income, prove MoveIn Funds, also analyzed for unusual transactions.Pet screeningHolding Fee required from approved applicants to make sure they are serious, before your property is marked pending.

So, I expanded markets anywhere that I could self manage from San Diego, and after a few weeks of briefly studying all the markets within a 6 hour drive, I landed my focus on Bakersfield and finding deals in traditional multi family units that needed work and were severely below market rents. 10+ offers later on everything from FHA, conventional 4 unit, the seller financing route, 5+ unit commercial lending, I finally got an offer accepted as the 2nd offer weeks after it had expired.

Traditional rent would go for $650 but I estimate I'll pull in about $1,200 (gross) from Airbnb.I'm moving to California in a few months so I'll have to set up systems before I leave (cleaning, check-in, check-out, etc).

Traditional financing.

Using "lit" light switches is a thing we love to do and the decor style might be more friendly to older people.

Go the traditional route to avoid points and fee's.

Same builder, same house, in same neighborhood for example could back to a busy main street in the entrance of the neighborhood, could face West where people prefer East facing, be the house that everyone drives by and lights shine in the front windows when you enter the neighborhood, could back to power lines in the back of the neighborhood, could be next to the community pool, could be on a corner with a bigger lot, and a host of other factors go into pricing....not just size.The 3 main sources that most sellers use for size are tax roll, appraiser, or builder's plan. 

@Shayla RogersMost HML will not do a traditional pre-approval. 

Hard money lenders are easy to work with and quick to issue payment etc but the drawback is that they are more expensive as a traditional bank.Renovations and scope of workThis was a full gut rehab.

Spend a day in each area and drive around to learn the areas, the local traditions etc.