Rentability prospects seem better for my age and ideal roommate demographic.

That's no assessment of you, that's from personal experience as a professional, examining the DIYed 1065 returns of many prospects who come to me.My firm, as a general rule, now only accepts established 1065 clients if they are coming from another CPA firm and have solid bookkeeping -- P&L, balance sheet, and general ledger. 

if yes, then maybe prospective tenants will too. just points to ponder.

So better question would be; do you believe that a driven person who comes into the area to be an agent/eventual investor with no experience still has a good prospect of success, or is entry curve too high/opportunity passed? 

Our economy is still missing some 10 million jobs that existed before the onset of the pandemic, with little prospect that they’ll be recovered any time soon, if ever.

What are your thoughts on the current and future prospects of STRs with COVID and other factors? 

And prospecting for REIs as well.

I am wondering do you use any tool (like DealCheck) to find out how much a prospective JV will make from the deal (cashflow, or after sale profit). so that I can approach people with those details.

If you have an excited prospective tenant, maybe consider locking her into a multiyear lease to protect future vacancy. 

As a result, the prospect for strong economic growth, as well as budding concerns about inflation, have pushed down the prices for bonds.