Most of our STRs have an office set up of some sort or a spot to work with monitors and we do find this attracts a lot of guests where someone needs to work while the family enjoys the activities.Traveling nurses get a lot of the buzz around MTRs but displaced families from fires (Napa and Oregon do see a lot of these), other work force that can be remote or travel, or other potential guests.Also, definitely use Airdna or one of the other sites that estimate your revenue to see how it would perform in your market and then look at other listings as well to see what amenities they offer to see if you could be competitive in your market.

If he finds mold you’ll pay for e inspection and the repair (obviously) but if he doesn’t find health damaging mold it will be added to their next month’s bill. 

If you buy a townhome in an association that is operating well (e.g. has plenty of reserves for capital improvements and no deferred maintenance) then as long as you are cash-flow positive after HOA dues are paid (and you budget for potential increases) then townhomes can be an easier property to manage. 

There are two potential violations from the city of Austin.

Look for distressed or undervalued properties with the potential for value appreciation after renovations.

Are you looking at these properties as long-term investments, or are you considering potential exits in the near term?

If you're looking for a market with great long-term appreciation potential, Columbus would be worth looking into. 

But with the right mindset, strategy, and connections, it can also be incredibly rewarding.I'm glad to hear that you're considering Roanoke Virginia as a potential location for your first investment.

“this implies the property has multiple units (tenants in the back) and the tenants have lived there longer than any potential OO situation (inherited the tenants).  

Our options are buying a new HVAC system, which will run us probably $5-10k based on our research, or we could go with a "rental" HVAC from a local company that includes all repairs, maintenance, filter replacements, etc. for a monthly fee of about $100 over 8 years.I figure we could offset the monthly cost by increasing our asking rent and save our reserves for something else that may come up, but I could also see this limiting our cash flow potential for the next almost decade.Has anyone run into a similar scenario?