This is a pain but, it actually provides protection.

But doing short sales was a pain.  90% of the time the banks wanted too much.  10% were deals. 

I run most of the PMS/CRM with Google Sheets and a bit of SQL, and I'm still happy with Wheelhouse after some growing pains. 

I know this can be an advantageous exit strategy for an older investor that may no longer want to deal with the pain of managing properties, but I'm curious as to if anyone has used this to fund their first deal in recent years.

Dealing with the city of Oakland can be a pain.

Downsides:  going through their qualification process takes a while and can be a bit of a pain and the property must remain owner-occupied for as long as you have the NACA loan.There are also some lenders doing zero down FHA loans. 

If you ever want to invest in Kansas city, PM me and i will give you the comapay..stay away from them.Even if you get a fairly good property with good rehab work,  it is difficult to make money through turnkeys; most don's cashflow.Do not rely on what your PM is telling you unless the PM is also an investor.....follow your gut feelings..not all PM are good...As a new investor without rehab experience, you will need to build a team; there are contractors who specialise in rehab work; seek them out and let them do a professional job and pay them.....as long as the numbers work, you are better off that buying a TK that you are not sure of the rehab work...you will end up in frustration...Above are my 1 cent so that you dont go through the aches and pains I went through.Happy investing....

I had exactly the same situation few years back with my tenant in folsom. made  us pay for hotel stay in marriott when hvac went out . i was self managing and he was far away so agreed as he had a 2 yr kid but they remained a pain. later i decided to get a PM and got them vacated right away. no tenant issues since. 

This is not only pain when it comes time for utility bill reconciliation but also can have adverse smells from the oil tanks in the basement.

Get cameras for outside the propertyAlso make sure you jack the price up for Holidays, this helps prevent parties.It is a pain to try and get anything back from Airbnb from past experience.Hope this helps!