We planned on using this as a STR and were expecting 50% occupancy.  

Also have an understanding of housing demand versus supply for houses and apartment rents (I wish I considered those factors when buying my first home).Also, make sure you understand debt financing and you spending time modeling out your costs. 

Therefore, if you are already spending $30K all in for something not much bigger than a hot tub, why not spend another $10-20K for something that a family or group can enjoy and actually play in together? 

Did you tell the owners that you plan to not occupy the place?

However, I have an actionable plan set into place now, with the monetary means to set my plan into action.

I am done spending my money and am looking to scale. 

In my experience, short term rental managers charge the most, followed by room by room, followed by longer term management.There may be an opportunity for you to do this yourself if you plan to continue living in the home.

I plan to purchase a 2-unit+ property as a first-time owner to get all the advantages Maryland offers, and scale from there. 

This means spending 3 - 4 weeks just analyzing, studying and evaluating the market of interest rather than jumping into a sales job day one.2.

This webinar will equip you with a powerful mindset shift and a plan of action to accomplish even the biggest of resolutions.