My wife and I have enjoyed over 30 MTR stays in the past 48 months, most of them for 1-3 months.I agree completely with both your "Worth the investment" and your "Not worth splurging on" lists, with the possible exception of "Premium cookware!"

Regarding the smoke detector, the may be an exception for foreclosure properties since you don't/can't have access. you could make the argument to the bank they must give you access to inspect the smoke detector and do inspections at the same time. how can they give you access if they don't own it?

I’ve gotten every home I’ve made offers on except a couple which had multiple offers at the same time.

Institutional private money is really no different than Hard Money except maybe they can close a little faster but sometimes it is a title issue and you can't anyway.  

Quote from @Rob Howard: @Joe Villeneuve except that he can sell it at any time probably for a profit in addition to the cash flow. 

They’re all electrical baseboard except my unit may be upgrade them to mini splits?

Huge “instant value.”Except… I don’t know a single stabilized student housing operator running sub-30% OpEx without cutting corners so aggressively that the NOI becomes fiction.Here’s what I’m seeing in the real numbers:Where the OM breaks realityManagement fees appear included,but once you properly account for student housing staffing — 28% isn’t sustainable.CapEx reserves?

I agree with Bud unless some extreme circumstances.  

The average stay must be seven days or less to qualify as a short-term rental for this purpose.To use it for your 2025 return, the property needs to be placed in service by December 31, 2025, meaning available for rent, though that depends on facts and circumstances, for example listed, furnished, and ready for guests.

The likely exception is someone that knows they can hold the home for many years (likely more than a decade).