@Jerry ZhangYou cannotYou can give a personal guarantee but then you would have to have other assets.What could happen and we have seen many times is they go into default and the 20% equity cushion goes out the window due to late fees, accrued interest and legal costs.

Construction skills, loan skills, financing skills, legal understanding, real estate transaction skills, etc all greatly help.Personally I wouldn't deal with someone that has no money, lacks experience, or some kind of resources. 

@Bryn Chatterton screening applicants will be SUPER important.This is a copy-paste from our website, so ignore some of the specifics.Robust Tenant ScreeningA bad tenant can lead to thousands of dollars of losses via unpaid rents, legal fees and property damages.

Maybe this would also make it worthwhile to jump through the city hoops to make the basement a legal unit.Then you could maybe put a LTR in the basement who could assist with the STR in the main area.

If a rental/lease contract is a legally binding document...enforced by collecting rent...or enforced by an eviction process if rent is not paid....then can there not be a document (legally binding) for a tenant to sign that would relinquish their rights as a squatter or due process of eviction...

A quiet title action is a legal action against anyone or entity that has an interest in the zombie property.

Question: Is it legal to deny sending them an official application if their desired move-in date is too far away?

REMINDER: Even when you make a deal with a non paying tenant to always continue the legal process in tandem.

An LLC is useful for two things: anonymity and legal protection.

Wishing you the best in your self-management journey, but remember, a good property manager can still be invaluable, especially if you’re not familiar with the legalities of property management.