We use them at home now as well, my wife likes to redecorate..

We have tried multiple local collection agencies, and we have not received a penny for over a hundred thousand dollars of bad debt submitted to them.We keep hearing, "It takes time" but it's been well over a year with the most recent one.

Well I have seen this come into play - I had someone who has a note in florida that was a non-owner occupied loan and the lender claims the borrower failed to make payments on this and attempted to record the deed in lieu.

I respectfully disagree with @Joshua Dorkin  as well.

I am in the Port Saint Lucie, Fl market and i have an airbnb that is doing quite well from an income perspective. 

These cash flow very well. 

You can indefinitely defer the tax and use it to purchase nicer property/properties, as well as not have to recapture any depreciation.

But again, if you're going to take it down to change out furnishings anyway, then the timing could work out well.

It sounds like you navigated the challenges well and gained valuable lessons for your next venture.

We are being conscious of property tax on a vacant piece of land (our potential liability) as well as the potential capital gains taxes (their potential liability).