I would want a fixed interest rate for as long as possible for risk mitigation on refinancing & predictability of debt expenses.

In 2023 we had no major expenses, occupancy was right at 59.7% (218 nights) and we averaged about $175 per night.

The cheap homes have higher turnover, lower quality more problematic tenants and more expenses.

I've included an example below to help illustrate this.So different lenders have different rates (which do vary even for DSCR loans) but these are factors they all consider.See example below:DSCR < 1Principal + Interest = $1,700Taxes = $350, Insurance = $100, Association Dues = $50Total PITIA = $2200Rent = $2000DSCR = Rent/PITIA = 2000/2200 = 0.91Since the DSCR is 0.91, we know the expenses are greater than the income of the property.DSCR >1Principal + Interest = $1,500Taxes = $250, Insurance = $100, Association Dues = $25Total PITIA = $1875 Rent = $2300DSCR = Rent/PITIA = 2300/1875 = 1.23DSCR lenders generally let you vest either individually or as an LLC.

As far as expenses for things such as electricity and RE taxes (paid in 2023), those will generally be deductible on Sch E.

Quickbooks has gotten expensive and I'm considering just using Stessa and then sharing the reports with my CPA at the end of the year.

No major expenses aside from the day-to-day.

Reporting each property separately on Schedule E is generally the correct approach, as it allows you to accurately capture the income and expenses associated with each property.

Whats the most ideal # of rooms best rent and low vacancy rate?

It's a budget friendly option to some of the other services, and they have engineers on staff + audit defense, but the more expensive cost seg companies ($1500-2500) will actually do walkthroughs of your property via Facetime to more granularly estimate components of your structure.