@Robert Spiegel Great question, and it’s always a balancing act when dealing with long-term tenants who’ve been fantastic overall.Based on my experience managing over 1,200 rental homes in North Texas, including areas like Dallas, Fort Worth, Plano, and Frisco, here’s how I would approach this:Cleaning Charge: While $540 may feel steep, it can vary depending on the size of the property and local market rates.

I have a property management company manage them as I have a full-time job, wife, and 2 boys.

Set up a basic system to manage your listing, update it monthly, and always ask guests for feedback—and don’t forget to casually ask for that 5-star review!

But even being a Landlord and outsourcing that staffing via Property Management still requires someone to manage the managers. 

I am newly married and have a hefty mortgage myself, but I manage to save a decent amount of money realistically 10-15k a year I have been working as a construction worker as long as I have been working I am a mason by trade and even though moneys tight I know I will be a successful investor even in the current market.

Tenant stopped paying rent before 2 months of the lease expiring, property manager filed for eviction process but tenant vacated the property before sheriff served the notice.

Allocate equity based on contributions: you provide the $235K HELOC and management, while your former boss contributes renovation expertise and labor.

Very good resource for getting set up with STR property managers, cleaning services, realtors, lenders, etc. https://www.getchalet.com/

Additionally, I'm working with the RE Ally Property management team, who was able to find a tenant to rent at slightly above market rates without any vacancy.

I used it to list my properties, screen tenants, manage payments, send notifications, manage maintenance.