I understand the safest option is to have a lawyer review the lease, but I figured I'd try to answer my beginner questions here and not waste the lawyers time (and my money) on the "for dummies" explanation.Thank you!

But success depends on choosing the right cities and building an experienced and reliable local team.

You will want to consult with a lawyer.In regards to your last two questions here's some background on what makes a contract valid and enforceable:Offer: A promise to do or not do something within a certain time period Acceptance: A clear and direct statement that all terms and responsibilities are accepted Consideration: A legal and adequate inducement given in exchange for the promise Capacity: The parties to the contract must have the legal capacity and competency to contract Awareness: A party must be aware of the contract Legality: The contract must be legal in the jurisdiction it will be operating in***Not legal advice*** Steps I would take: -Review contract in detail to understand each counterparties responsibilities (if you are not aware)- Email a copy of the lease to each of the tenants listed on the lease and reiterate lease expectations for termination notice, rent payment etc. - If the lease was signed via Docusign (other esign may have same ability) - you can go to the envelope, go to history and view the IP addresses for each action taken.

So, I guess I will hope social security pays something in 20 years and the stock market is still there when I grow old.BTW, I am an experienced investor, I know I can dump everything in the stock market but I am hesitant to do that.

It's a fairly unregulated space (charging grandma $750 to puts around for 3 hours, after moving the old box from the horizontal sensor, which was the only problem with the garage door to begin with), so some combination of carefully reading reviews (you have to actually read them to make sure it's not 200 fake reviews), and maybe not giving them the full contract all at once, is in order. 

Also, there are many integrations available with QuickBooks so that receipts, bills, invoices can be sent to Quickbooks or outside software to read each and automatically create the transaction and we just have to review and approve.

Additional DetailsI’m willing to invest in out-of-state properties, though I prefer areas with good property management options.My primary focus is passive income, but I’m also interested in value-add opportunities.I want to ensure these investments provide strong tax benefits and diversify my portfolio.I’d love to hear from experienced investors:What would you do in my position?

Since you are experienced with HMLs, you know their strengths and weaknesses. 

My one suggestion: do not conduct business with anyone (here or anywhere) without having your lawyer and maybe even your CPA reviewing all the paperwork.Also, stay far away from LPs.

I can guarantee that over 50% of experienced hosts wouldn't survived if they started in the current market.