Use an RMLO if this will be a consumer loan. 

As in all things in life (like choosing a spouse)for instance, it's incumbent upon us to examine our individual personalities regarding whether a proposed partnership would be a good fit or a disaster in waiting.In 2007, when I lost more than $130,000 in the stock market,I learnt a permanent lesson that stuck with me till today.I discovered that I was a control freak.I needed to always know how my actions directly related to my results, and most often like to retain the ability to change my mind even if others would find such reversal a stupid idea.Seeing how much control I didn't have on how my stocks performed in 2008 despite all the information I had consumed for several months regarding value investing and how to analyze a company's fundamentals scarred me for life.It made a real estate investor out of me.The safety and assurance that I was taking sole responsibility for the calls i made and the risks I decided to take was a calming refuge.Having been a Pro-member on BiggerPockets for as long as I've been has its perks.It gives one a front row seat to see in slow motion the interesting evolution of the component parts that make up this mammoth industry.I watched in amusement as one member arrived as a total newbie in 2018 with a welcome post, voraciously consuming unsolicited counsel on the member forums for a few months and then posted a "success story" of his deals after 6 months.Within a year, he had his own podcast and is now buying large apartments as a syndicator pooling investors' money.To be clear, this is not a hate post.I certainly do not begrudge people "crushing it" in record time.Nonetheless, as a 'senior' member of this community who has seen this movie before,I do feel a lonely cautionary voice in the wilderness is needed at this point.We are in an environment of unprecedented cap rate compression and record low interest rates which is only headed in one direction after this is all over.Yes, make no mistake, the music will soon stop.That has very little to do with an upcoming election and is regardless of who wins the White House or who controls congress after November.If you've listened to Kevin Bupp and Rod Khleif, you know what happened to their portfolios in 2008.These were no amateurs, as a matter of fact, they had many years of investment experience when the music stopped.They both weathered the storm and came back stronger and that is why I remain a shameless fan of both men till today.Several others were not that lucky, and you will never hear their names.In this space today, there are investors and there are educators.The educators have taken over the habitat.That is why there are now more podcasts on real estate than I can get through in a working week.Real Estate education is so very lucrative now that it is possible to make way more money from podcasts and books than in actual real estate investment for some gifted marketers with smooth tongues and gifted content creators.We are in the information age after all, and youtube millionaires are now perhaps outpacing patient real estate buy and hold landlords in the passive income/ cash flow game.Belonging to a $25,000/year mastermind and attending a syndication bootcamp does not insulate anyone from catastrophe.

The idea is not to completely ignore cash flow, but rather to seek deals for their potential for equity gains, even if that means a modest cash-on-cash return.Due to the combined forces of value-add, market appreciation, amortization, and leverage, seeking deals that build equity can generate large amounts of capital with which you can reinvest.

A modest increase won’t hurt, but I tend to only increase rent every 2 years.  

Quote from @Andrew Steffens: STR IMO is great for people- Who want to own a second (or third +) home in a desirable place where they can get personal use out of- Investors expecting modest returns but can invest in better neighborhoods leading to hopefully higher appreciation.- High end luxury/unique property owners with higher than average returns.Otherwise you are likely experiencing similar results to what you mentioned, of course depending on the market. 

I only lend to LLCs or corporations, and the property has to be a true investment asset.The reason is once it’s an owner-occupied home, consumer-lending laws kick in, and the compliance requirements are totally different.

Constant bugs or operational friction are simply too time-consuming for us.

Even if appreciation is modest, consistent rent plus tax benefits can outpace what a volatile market offers, especially if you value peace of mind in a downturn.

After voicing that I will be hiring an attorney and filing a compliant with the Utah Division of Consumer Protection all my ad spend was cut off without warning to make it look like I violating the agreement and I was also locked out of some areas CRM system.

After I reported him to the consumer protection agency, I noticed his website added disclaimers about how his returns are exceptional (I’m not sure his claims are even true or has been proven), and that replicating his returns are not guaranteed, which is nice way of saying you’re going to piss your money away trying to replicate what this guy claims he has done.