I've done very well for myself and made a lot of money, but real estate has it's cycles and right now is a down time.

House hack could include airbnb however we are concerned about down time between rentals.

Most tenants stay 2-3 years on average (however 10+ is not unheard of) and we usually have a 30day or less down time between tenants. 

The reason being, they offer fitness centers, hot tubs, water parks etc... which gives them an activity to do with the down time on vacations.

@Jon Klaus Hi John, I have thought about snow removal since the snow usually results in some down time for us, but honestly I already work too much ( just ask my wife). 

I have finally decided that as an investor gaining direct access to the MLS is necessary for several reasons.With that said, I am strongly considering a CA Real Estate License.Given my hectic schedule, it only makes sense to take a certified online course so to squeeze it in on my downtime.

Now that is one-stop shopping till you are dropping my friend...literally after hours and when in down time mode I am perusing the county clerk's web portal to located delinquent tax records and probate cases by name. 

With the turnkey model, you do often get an "instant" tenant, so considering that there is no down-time and no first-month property mgmt fee, that can be worth $1-2000 instantly, which helps offset some of the higher initial cost of the turnkey product.

I'm considering doing it in person to avoid the downtime since I'm not terribly far away.  

Even with turn costs, as long as i dont have more than week of downtime im still better off than if the tenants stays for 5 years at a max of 3% rent bumps...