My current agent hasn’t been very hands-on, so I’ve mostly been finding listings myself.Looking for advice from investors and agents who are winning deals right now:What’s the smartest way to structure a competitive offer when there are multiple bids?

Full-time PMs cost more (20–30%) but handle everything hands-off.

On the other hand if they are a sponsor that is experienced in stopping a skin in the game, that's a huge red flag for me.c) how open to scrutiny are they?

I am an agent and own a handful of small multi unit properties in the Portland metro.

On the other hand, if the tenant is required to hire a local company for trash pick-up, this house has a long, fairly steep driveway.

Keep exploring meetups, walk properties, and get to know your submarkets well.The more hands-on you get, the faster everything will click.

The property is handed over as-is.

These are the exact areas I dig into as well, because they quickly reveal whether someone can realistically meet the participation requirements that drive STR tax benefits.Understanding W-2 demands, average stay length, hands-on involvement, and the dynamics with a property manager tells you almost everything about how the STR will perform and how the tax strategy should be structured.Most investors underestimate how much these factors impact both their numbers and their ability to use the losses.

Is there even enough time in the day to hold all of these positions?

The IRS wants to see that you’re actively directing and managing the business — things like approving budgets, coordinating repairs, analyzing performance, and making operational decisions — not just reviewing reports or responding to occasional updates.So while it’s not impossible, it’s rarely achievable unless you’re very hands-on, even from a distance, and have solid time logs to back it up.If you’re interested, I can share a free REPS tracker that helps you record and organize your hours.