The statement from your buyer's report is much more accurate for the situation and should be trusted over what you were told before.

Landlords mistakenly ASSUME all PMCs offer the exact SAME SERVICES and PERFORM those services EXACTLY THE SAME WAY, so price is the only differentiator.So, the first question they usually ask a PMC is about fees - instead of asking about services and HOW those services are executed.This also leads them to ASSUME simpler is better when it comes to management contracts.

With that said, Disney just transferred 2000 jobs to Lake Nona area from California, which already has incredible demand for housing, so that would be a great option, Short term rentals near the theme parks perform amazingly if done properly and can generate tens of thousands a month in income.

Any savvy investor should perform their own due diligence prior to investing in any market.

I have the opportunity to purchase two short-term rental properties that will perform very well.  

And we all know from the weather comedians how accurate forecasts are.

Is it accurate to say that the money put into the rehab considered an expense (i.e. painting, new fixtures, etc), but the money received back after refinancing is now considered taxable but just part of the loan? 

I even had agents ask for proof of a lease first …How am I supposed to accurately analyze? 

This is also a slight uptick from the September 2021 median home price of $450,000 in the Austin-Round Rock market.Here’s how submarkets in the Austin area performed in October:City of Austin: The median home price climbed 21.1 percent year over year to $536,000­­, while home sales decreased 11.7 percent.Travis County: The median home price increased 21.8 percent year over year to $522,625, while home sales fell 16.9 percent.

Given your goals, you might want to  entertain the option of selling (flipping to an end buyer, rather than flipping to yourself. ) You could then use those funds to buy an already performing rental somewhere, since you are open to multiple markets.