The seller will lose some rent, potentially incur costs to evict, possibly costs to clean out the units depending on your sales agreement.

I am assuming in this that normal cleaning was done pre-occupancy and they are excessive in their expectations.

Because Airbnb only makes money when the guest books on Airbnb.Hence, they want the price to be cheapest on their platform, so people book on Airbnb instead of elsewhere, and want their properties to be able to compete with hotel prices (even after cleaning fee and service fees). 

I'd personally say pulling your water heater out and replacing with a wall mount on demand one, would be worth the cost to have in unit washer dryer if you are staying there or renting it, it would be worth it.its always worth doing the big stuff well and correct even if you are cleaning up after someone, the long term hold always prevails, its just a little frustrating front sometimes, but hang in there!

I ASSUME you’re talking $400+ in extra expenses for providing water, power, sewer, gas, internet, communal area cleaning, and exterior maintenance.

Just be the absolute best host you can be for the first year -- communicate clearly and quickly, make sure cleaning is top-notch, make sure all amenities work (hot tub is hot, TV remotes have batteries, etc. etc.)

STRs also avoid automatic classification as passive if rented for seven days or fewer per tenant.To maximize tax benefits, maintain detailed logs of all hours worked on activities like tenant communication, cleaning, maintenance, and marketing.

I feel like it's a space where great operators can really clean up, since the bar is set really low, in my experience at least.

Best way to find end buyers is to ensure it's well marketed - Professional photos, professional clean prior to listing, aggressive list pricing.

Talk to other clients, go look at his current job site and see how clean it is, the quality of work, if the order of operations is making sense so far, etc.PS I'm a GC in the Nashville area and can take on a handful of clients in 2025 if you need me.