Wanted to pose this as a question while also ranting a little bit.Curious to know if I'm the only one feeling strongly about this?

Nice little sweet spot.NAR CHANGES Let's address this one.

I am 98% in the Tampa marketHowever, I am originally from Atlantic City NJ area and actually manage 1 outside of AC and had previously managed a couple in the Long Beach Island area.Obviously very seasonal market but the one I have in Ventnor was bought for around $800k and grosses around $120k per year, 80% coming MDW-LDW

Hi there,Build-to-rent (BTR) companies like the ones you mentioned can definitely be a viable option, especially if you're looking to invest in areas away from your home base.

Buy a bigger home and rent the current one so you can buy a bigger home using the primary home lesser down payment. 

I know I want to buy more properties in the next couple years but for my first one, how can I setup an LLC for the best asset protection?

Proceed with extreme caution on this one or better yet, run.

You can go heavier in one category but that's up to you on which on you'd rather invest more in

One of my biggest tips would be to attend as many meetups as you possibly can.

Airbnb is just one of many listing platforms to list your STR.