I'm trying to decide whether I should stick to three cheaper, single family homes (long term rentals) or one expensive vacation home for short term rentals.

Best to learn how to do it and stick with that.

Pick one strategy and stick with it.

Stick with verifiable facts when evaluating potential tenants, such as income, employment and rental history, credit and criminal records.

So thanks for sticking with me this far.

I've been at "Pre retirement" for about 3 weeks and the biggest problem I've run into is sticking to the budget.

For now, I too am sticking with the metal sheds on slabs.

Rule of thumb - always stick to your formula - keep the capitalization percentage and allowance for repairs to protect yourself - I've managed 100+ private homes and Murphy's Law when something goes wrong they all go wrong.  

Winter has snow, but it doesn't stick around long.Diary;Feb; Occupant tried to sell house as "owned free and clear" by his mother. 

At 50 years old and 23 years in my career, I'll stick around to get the pension and life time health care (not free).