My wife and I are looking to purchase our first short term rental and we are drawn to the Tampa area because family is nearby and we frequent the state.

I just want you to know as a property manager I frequently speak with employees of these city utilities.

@Bruce Lynn is right about NAS Pensacola being a frequent reason that people move in and out of the area.

@Charles Hunnewell, with a bigger concentration of 1-bedroom and studios you may want to underwrite with more frequent turnover higher turnover costs.

Look for local real estate developers who have done similar projects in the past, but I recommend getting the deal under contract with a due diligence period, so you can back-out if you don't get the financing needed.Engage a Real Estate Broker or Advisor, Real estate agents frequently have contacts with investors.

A PMC should have a list of contractors that they use frequently to do this. 

Seth Williams/RETipster really puts out a good product/course, offers tons of information, updates his material frequently (video and written), interviews guests offering valuable info (ex: asset protection, law, taxation).

@Michael Plaks is a frequent contributor here on BP.

Our frequent flyers - they were all U.S.

For what it’s worth, I might visit my apartments every 6 months but I do have fairly frequent calls with my PM.