Low down payment is a significant part of your criteria, Michael, and it obviously fits your personal needs, wants, financial position, goals….But for myself, for instance, ability to pay a low dp is of absolutely no importance.  

Without the ability to obtain a loan / financing - the next steps will be harder to accomplish

You will also have the ability to refinance the new purchase easily with a delayed purchase refinance (You can price these as a rate and term refinance), if you plan on only refinancing the purchase price + cost of improvements. 

My SEO skills are definitely not the best and while I use Instagram, too, I've found it hard to get people to actually engage.

I'm only building rental cabins which is a higher price point due to their ability to produce income. 

Just be aware that it can kill the tax benefits of your STR.To keep your ability to deduct STR losses, you cannot use the property for "personal purposes" for more than 14 days a year.

This is appealing for short-to-medium term gains, especially if you’re confident in your ability to refinance or sell in 15 years.

And yes, non-tax considerations matter as well, such as your ability to borrow money or your student loans.

The manager's ability to do actual marketing or help in that department outside of just posting is a problem owners don't know they have.

Then you can use content tools and SEO tools from carrot to extend your website into new markets.