EDUCATE YOURSELF - yes, it will take time, but will lead to a selection that better meets your expectations & avoids potentially costly surprises!

@Danae Pitcher I’m always surprised how few questions people ask when they’re getting to know us as a vacation rental manager.

(Not really a surprise that CA makes life a little harder)The California Franchise Tax Board will require that you file a new form every single year (Form 3840) in which you detail what you did with your sale proceeds, where they are invested, and whether you ever recognized income from your sale or any subsequent sale.  

More than four months rent were lost between missed rent payments and legal fees to evict the tenant.The next tenant was much better, but had frequent complaints regarding legitimate problems: -bathroom sink hot water knob that didn't work -rat urine smell coming from the vents -water leakage from the toilet(I understand that problems occur, particularly with properties of this age, but it was surprising/disappointing considering I paid Ohio Cashflow $64.9k for a property they bought for almost half the price, then, even after having done improvements, still required frequent repairs.)3) Property appreciation I bought the property for $64,900 and sold it for $48,5000.

This was a complete surprise out of left field, so I threw out a big number - close to our best case scenario flip profit to see if they would bite.

If you are surprised by a bid, talk to the winner, find out why they bid what they did. 

I was honestly surprised that it was “that” easy.It is about an hour’s drive from my house now and I justified it as a BRRR type deal… but honestly I just think I bite off more than I can chew. 

I was quite surprised when he invested $500,000, and followed up with a $250,000 additional investment the next year.

There will be some giant surprises to many there when you have to start paying engineers for frequent evaluations and making the structural repairs required.   

Let me guess you're going to be surprised when your HOI goes up too?