What answer did he provide?

You only need someone to take videos of the right things and provide honest feedback about the block.Let me know if you have any questions or comments below.

@JD Monroe runs a team of VA's and could provide some insight!

But one good thing about keeping it as an STR it qualifies you as RE professional and would be able to deduct from your W2 income.LTR is much more hands off especially if it is a new build.

You can certainly withdraw your offer - even if they signed it and you did not.It really isn't necessary to provide your potential mid-term tenant an explanation for your actions.  

What I wish I had known when making somewhat similar decisions a decade ago was how to do a professional underwriting. 

It's a great place to store your cash until you find the right opportunity that works for you plus all the other benefits it provides (not least of which is flexible terms and liquidity when you DO find somewhere to invest your money).

Short answer; don't buy OOS, find/buy/create opportunities in your backyard.Long answer; you need facetime with these professionals and they need to value your time (take you serious).

Couple times even played matchmaker...you can find 2-4 working professionals who are new to the city and looking for a place to live. 

I use OwnerRez as my PMS and their Wordpress plugin provides the booking functionality on my website.