I would play along and let the neighbor know that you are sorry they need to sell their home for these health reasons and offer to buy it for half what its worth.

If you told him you have been playing pickup games for the past year and need help improving your jump shot, now he has evidence you're motivated and a specific goal he can quickly help you work towards.

They play this game because the guy has a criminal record so the woman applies for the apartment alone.  

How many kids get to play minecraft or COD on a big projector screen right? 

To be successful right now in STR, you either need to go all out and beat everyone else on their table stakes (pickleball, basketball, game rooms, saunas, hot tubs, etc.) or you need to understand the market better than anyone and pick a niche for that market.Right now, you are one post in and just asking for someone to tell you anywhere in the United States to invest, which is silly.

You say the contractor is resubmitting the revisions but where is the architect and what role is he/she playing?

As you know there are a lot of factors that play into making each property a successful Short Term Rental.

DSCR doesn't require the property is rented, but with the loan amount at play that would not be an option for everyone I've heard of. 

Your success is much more influenced by how well you play in a market, how good your team is, than by picking a marginal better market.

I may be inclined to throw some referrals your way big dawg.I've tried that before, but I didn't enjoy it because it doesn't play to my strengths.