It's a great location and has potential.1) I think the place lacks any flair.

Conversations with a person land so much better than a message thru FF.Also it is helpful to know that most Corporate Housing companies or Insurance Agencies that are trying to find housing for their customers and reach out to you, they do finds leads on FF.  

The shortage exists for lots of reasons, but a lot has to do with lack of trades folks to do the work, which drives costs up, which creates "unaffordable" housing. 

The spammy questions I get on my properties show a complete lack of understanding of the business.

I'd attack the credit report :) 1) lower (pay down) whatever accounts have a high utilization percentage 2) contact each of 3 major consumer credit agencies and get a free report, then dispute every hard inquiry that is *NOT* associated with an open account 3) call the credit cards you already have established and ask for a credit line increase -- often can be done online and they do not verify income, hint hint. 

🏦To get to the point where you can avoid personal guarantees, you’ll need to build your business credit over time:Open trade lines in your business’s name (utilities, vendors, etc.).Make sure you’re reporting payments to business credit agencies like D&B.Keep your debt-to-income ratio low and maintain good cash flow.It doesn’t really matter if it’s an LLC or S-Corp—what matters most is establishing the business as a strong, creditworthy entity.But yeah, in the early stages, personal guarantees are almost unavoidable.

For me the reason for going turnkey was to limit my lack of experience and knowledge of the areas I am investing in and I looked at the premium I was paying as worth it to acquire the things I lacked. 

Is this common, or are we overpaying due to lack of competition?

Talk through the options the owner has to solve the problem and give them agency to pick the solution they want.

With the changes in buyer agency, the oversight needed with so many agents was a time suck.