STRs is my main job, and my wifes. 

A few searches and all I find are get a law degree at a good school and get a job.

I was wondering if you bought significantly (20%) or so below FMV, you could refi in 6+ months and get all of your capital back.Hey, great job having a paid for house, an emergency fund AND another 20% for a down payment!

The root of all real estate working (growing) is jobs jobs JOBS and Growing good jobs.   

Techniques/Items to consider Mirroring - simply repeating the last few important words your counterpart saidMirroring is great when you are at a loss for words.

I expected it to be no more than 9 however, I experienced a major delay in getting my custom windows (loss of 6 weeks) plus utility delays and a few minor weather delays (we don't get much of that here in sunny So CAL!).

Jobs, especially higher income earning ones, are much harder to come by except in a few markets, like Bend.

Population, unemployment rates, potential big companies moving in = more jobs, Rent rates, Etc?

Remember, as a real-estate investor, your job is to be connected and knowledgeable on how to put these deals together, how to find financing, how to run contractors, how to find tenants and how to manage the properties.

As a contractor your number one job is to minimize risk.