I would not use our money for the next project.

If you start a JV in name but do not give your partners proper control and decision-making rights and the deal goes bad you open yourself up to serious consequences which can lead to SEC violations with extremely high fines.Lastly, you can offer the project up to investors who have no voting or control.  

This is typically for most people not a DIY project. 

@Ryan Cousins it's really going to depend on YOUR analysis/projections of what you think the property will be worth in the future.You'll want to compare that to any capital gains tax-savings if you sell now.

I politely informed them that their bookkeeping records and the law state otherwise.

The market does offer lower priced investment opportunities and higher cashflow returns, with ongoing revitalization projects like the DORA boosting appreciation potential.

If you decide to revisit STRs, you might want to explore properties where you can project expenses independently, such as using local STR forums or online tools to estimate maintenance, management, and occupancy costs.For networking and strategy-building, you might find local meetups or groups beneficial.

Also, the ability to find good deals with an accurate budget to complete the project up front from some good project managers/general contractors.

That would set you up and make it easier to scale to another or larger project.

Are you working on any projects or targeting anything specific?