I appreciate all the helpful information on this site it seems to be the most up to date information I can find on the web.

Considering the potential investment I'd purchase a month of airdna.co for the specific area (not affiliated, but use the service myself).

The most comprehensive guide I've found is at https://www.therealestatecpa.com/guide-to-qualifying-as-a-real-estate-professional (no affiliation)

If I was going to jump into the space, I would identify the top 10 (in terms of booking and rating) properties in my market, pull the tax web site info to get at owner information, then try to find a way to build a bridge to some of those owners.

Most of our tenants are affiliated with either Harvard or M.I.T. but we also get academics associated with BU & Tufts.M.I.T. = 11,934 graduate & undergraduates this past academic yearHarvard = 21,119 degree students this past academic yearBoston University = 32,462 graduate & undergraduates this past academic yearLesley University = ~ 6,600 graduate & undergraduates Tufts = over 12,000 graduate & undergraduatesBrandeis = 5,558 graduate & undergraduatesI would contact someone in the off-campus housing department of your local university to find out what the need in your local area is.

Thanks Mitch, I have contacted them via their web site.

I know that a web developer would charge $2k+ to develop a personal website. 

Would I need to be affiliated with a brokerage in order to represent myself as a buyers agent?

There are many great articles on this subject (I have no affiliation with any of these):https://www.renofi.com/learn/r...https://www.thisoldhouse.com/h...https://www.investopedia.com/a...That being said, these ROI numbers are arguably more relevant for owner occupants.

There are really great PM's affiliated that can get the job done well!