They bring food and hats and other marketing materials.

Should I have a family member live there at a loss each month?

If oven, washer, dryer go out, I would pay them some money for during the week for food to eat out or laundromat, and then fix on the weekend.As you said you're in the learning phase.

Have your agent throw a broker open (possibly with food) to get agents through and get feedback. 

Looking to purchase one and struggling with the right calculators to determine the real metrics.As I understand it (recently looked at buying a former bnb) you need to treat it like any other STR with your extra costs such as food, etc  baked in to the expenses.

@Kameren Powell I’ll try to save you from financial loss.

Does HOA have loss of income insurance or some fund to make up the losses until owners get property rehabbed or built?

This creates two loan payments ($100,000 of equity and $300,000 on the new mortgage).Key NumbersHome Equity Loan Interest Rate: 6%Mortgage Interest Rate: 7%Rental Income: $3,000 per monthExpenses (management, taxes, insurance, maintenance): $800 per monthIncome and ExpensesMonthly Rental Income: $3,000Monthly Expenses: $800Monthly Mortgage Payment: $2,000ExplanationThe investor earns $3,000 in rent each month.They pay $2,000 on the investment property mortgage and $800 on other expenses.This leaves $200 profit each month or $2,400 per year.However, you have to pay $6,000 interest on the equity borrowed.This leaves you with an annual loss of $3,600.This example shows that while the rental property generates positive monthly income, the interest cost of borrowing the initial $100,000 results in an overall annual loss.

Many people are suggesting to do a 1031 but have no idea what your gain / tax is(if any).Co-ops in the tri-state area 'normally' don't appreciate a crazy amount.The main reasons is the high monthly maintenance costs, over-leverage of the board, potential difficulty of buyers getting a mortgage and the approval process of the buyer.With that said, talk to your CPA to discuss what your gain / tax would be before thinking about a 1031 exchange.If your tax burden is low, don't bother with the 1031It may be possible that you have suspended passive losses to cover your tax burden.best of luck.

If you brought your spouse and 2 kids with you, and you could argue all of your argue of your time on the trip was looking at real estate, and your personal business and activity circumstance defends being able to immediately deduct it and not treat it as a start up cost... likely 75% of much of the travel costs (airfare, food, etc) would be non-deductible.