Are there any mentors or opportunities to shadow deals?

Your window of time for making money in STR is going to be reduced depending on where you invest.

Or should I ReDuce the Rental fee Eliminate the PM?

If you are confident in your numbers and know the range of return on investment, your risk will be reduced.

I've heard others playing it safe and reducing that schedule to 6 months.

Many of our buyers happily take the win of reduced interest rates and down-payment requirements from house hacking and add it to a value play by having an opportunity to kick-start appreciation.

I've had about 6 inspections from various professionals done; the only one I'm waiting on still is the Independent Appraiser's report, but he's indicated to me that not only is the property a 2 BR, 1 BA, but also that he's planning on reducing the square footage GLA of the house by 30% due to non-permitted addition in back.

Other ideas that you've probably already implemented are; reduce water usage (shower heads, toilets, convert to xeriscaping) and charge for pets.

By factoring in maintenance, capex and vacancy, you are keeping your cash flow positive and reducing your exposure when things go bad with the property.

Ask them if you can shadow them on property tours, talking to sellers, negotiating, etc...The only way you will fail in this business is if you quit.