It's not the best place to invest in real estate, though having said that, I did recently purchase a flat.

Normally, you would charge a cleaning fee (ex. $250), then refund them back the remaining.I don't understand why some people say you need a seperate account for every tenant, that's a bit ridiculous especially since banks normally require min balances, so you'll end up owing thousands to the bank everytime you pay back the tenant's security deposit.

Also depends on if you have strata/condo fees or HOA.The cash flow on my places are all over the place and yet I'm fine with all of the rentals for different reasons. 

A few things to think about-what are all of your monthly costs and look at the rent including vacancy and management fees. 

So for her, the fees of 3% at closing and 1.5% per year is a steal vs paying $400,000.

(Late fees would be one example.)

We do charge a pet fee, and it has helped with any extra costs a pet guest has incurred. 

Your PM fees for LTR will be more in the 10-12% range, while for STR it is more in the 25-30% range (and don't forget about GET/TAT). 

Paying an upfront fee for smaller subs seems like an interesting plot for a CONtractor mini-drama series

Do you have a setup fee?