Performance often varies dramatically by township due to STR regulations, enforcement, and permitting requirements.Another area to stress-test is seasonality.

AND stress the elder abuse charges.thoughts?  

What was sold to us as a solid investment became a stressful, costly nightmare, and we sold both homes just two years later.Based on our experience, we strongly caution anyone to do very careful due diligence before trusting the claims made by Black Belt Investors.

Hey Kenny,Given your budget and the fact that you want to learn while you invest, starting with a long-term rental in a more affordable, landlord-friendly market is usually the least stressful path.

It’ll help you analyze deals more confidently.Your approach is very reasonable—don’t stress about having everything perfectly figured out yet.

Guest behavior often tells a different story.Comfort Directly Impacts ReviewsComfort influences:- Sleep quality- Daily usability- Stress levelsThese elements appear repeatedly in positive reviews and repeat bookings.Research from the broader hospitality industry consistently shows that negative guest feedback is most often tied to comfort failures: poor sleep, cleanliness issues, excessive noise, or temperature problems rather than the absence of luxury amenities.

At least this is what my underwriting has told me, I've yet to find anything retail that even comes close, most loopnet deals I look at come in at like 0.50 DSCR after stress-testing 

Quote from @William Thompson: The First Thing STR Hosts Should Review in the First Week of the Year (It’s Not Bookings)The first work week of the year always brings the same instinct for STR hosts:check calendars, tweak pricing, and see how January bookings look.That’s fine — but the hosts who actually improve year over year start somewhere else.They review how the business ran, not just how it booked.Before looking at occupancy, I always suggest taking one hour to answer a few simple questions:Which stays caused the most stress last year?

some assets have been under a ton of stress . 

Deals showing 7%+ in B areas are either:priced very aggressively (often off-market),lightly underwritten, orrelying on short-term assumptions that don’t hold long-term.In most cases, 7%+ CoC in today’s environment is coming from one of three places:C-class risk (which you’re already avoiding),Value-add execution (rent bumps, expense cleanup, operational inefficiencies),Creative structure (seller carry, rate buy-downs, lower leverage, or higher equity checks).Personally, we’ve adjusted expectations on initial cash-on-cash in B areas and focus more on:durability of the asset,rent growth over 24–36 months,and total return rather than Year-1 cash flow optics.If you’re underwriting clean, long-term B-class assets at 5–6% CoC and they still make sense after stress-testing, that’s not a miss — that’s the current market.