@Carlos Jackson I strongly urge you to attend some real estate meetups and find a mentor who can help you recognize a good property.

How are agents who are successful recognized?

They seem to recognize the value of STR to the community and town.  

In my experience, listing agents agreeing to list below 2.5% will not do the job of a top agent, who recognizes their value and will likely expect compensation in the 2.5-3% range. 

check some of our templates out, you're free to get inspiration from our proven templates for investors

You will report the sale in your tax return  but not recognize the gain. 

We as PM's educate what we have proven more often than not.  

If I sell to a financed buyer, he/she must have proven funds available to bring to closing in the event of a appraisal shortfall and this is addressed in my contract via an appraisal addendum.

Nevermind being young, its hard to find investors at any age when you don't have a proven history of profitability and success you can demonstrate. 

You've got a lot of time to bounce back from failures, and if you worked that long abroad, you probably have some pretty significant life skills you don't even recognize that you can monetize for years to come if need-be.