I can also think of advantages like not having franchise fees, national branding issues, rent escalations can be built in to long terms leases more easily since the lessee is a professional, your property is faster and more quickly to adapt to which STR platform is working at any given moment, the lessee is more likely to be financially capable of paying for damage to the unit, etc.

See who the key players are who are actually doing deals.

Do not assume that just because someone is a licensed real estate person, that they are capable of competently handling ALL types of real estate situations.

The big energy players know the market and they will know when to ramp up labor.

One benefit of AF over Buildium, was Buildium has no unit level reporting/recording capabilities. 

I don't know how capable and real they are, but there is still $$ out there even though it's far and between; I just would not expect to find it on these forums and that's coming from a broker who's approved financing for hotels (full disclosure).  

Apart from that I am learning how to invest through books and a microcasette player that has tapes from a class my dad took 20 years ago.My short term goal right now is just to test the waters and get involved in anyway I can.

I also recommend Audible (Amazon's audiobook player) for listening on the go if you are like me and would rather listen to the information while driving or doing something else instead of just sitting down to read.

@Patrick Britton A baseball player that hits 0.300 will get paid a LOT more than the 20% performance difference between them and a 0.250 hitter (0.250 x 120% = 0.300).You can manipulate any numbers to justify your goal, so what's your point?

But CO (carbon monoxide) gases are a real problem with heating systems, and the exhaust system (including any chimney) must be capable of preventing any leakage of that exhaust into the building.