Go to the county government website for the county where the property is located. 

The numbers being audited by the government are Dave's...not the CPAs.

In a large minority of cases, the tenant pays both agents.There's no strict guideline and the commission arrangements are certainly not governed by law, except that any commissions paid by the tenant must be disclosed in writing and have the tenant's signature approving it.If you rent it yourself and have signed an "Exclusive Right To Rent" agreement with your agent, you will still owe the commission.As an aside, I try very hard to stay away from rentals.  

He sounds like his strategy would work well for you.I'd hate to see you sell this one then have to pay 20-35% back (depending on your tax bracket) to the government.

Since the government has such huge expenses after a situation such as this and the majority of tax payers end up on the hook for the costs is it appropriate to allow any one to rebuild in a area that will inevitably be devastated over and over again. 

The owners of the vacant/distressed properties seem to be okay with letting the property continue in disrepair, and/or letting the government lay a claim to it by neglecting to pay their taxes.

AreaAs such I use the county's records on line. http://www.calhouncountymi.gov/government/district...This only shows actions from this county, but I stick to renting to locals 

Depending on your area, you'll either need a physical title or the government entity in charge can look up to see the owner on record.

While the returns can be much greater, the cheese moves much faster in the game of short-term rentals, and the knowledge and strategy required when it comes to existing and future government regulation (on the city, county, and even state levels) is hugely important as one could get put out of business at any time.

These are monies that the bank governs themselves.