to sum up:buy outright with a mortgage - you're in a long term relationship with a bankbuy on seller finance - you're in a long term relationship with the sellerbuy on sub2 - you're in a long term relationship with the seller AND the bankgood sub2 and seller finance deals are very difficult to find.

I'd love to do it scared and take a risk with a small property to get my feet wet and build my confidence.

Anyone know of a lender that will finance a building like that? 

What's your strategy for getting your first investment property?

We use data from Airdna as well as Airbtics, MLS data for tax savings and property info, and also long term rental comps data. 

I’ve been looking at data on rental properties in Destin and Panama City Beach, and certain amenities seem to drive higher booking rates.

It would be helpful to know if you are talking about turn-key properties, or value-add properties.

Because he/she will know the process of buying / selling properties so they can be better suited to ask you the right questions.For example, since I acquired properties in the past, I know the ask clients if they got a home inspection/appraisal / survey prior to closing on the property.

Is there a way to utilize part of my Traditional IRA funds as a down payment on a SFH investment property without being penalized? 

The tax advantages of buying/holding gas stations are pretty great.Many of the components of gas stations including pumps, tanks, external parking areas, and other equipment are classified as either 5 or 15 year property so you can bonus depreciate a lot of it (minus the land value) and get significant deductions in year 1.With the current bonus depreciation rate at 60%, a $1 million gas station acquisition could still lead to $100K+ in year 1 deductions depending on the specifics of your deal.