I am worried about cutting off the power and then there be mold grow as we are in Alabama.

I believe in the power of community and learning from each other's experiences.

Taking the bookings directly can net you more money, take power away from the platforms to issue refunds, and protect you from other platform issues.Once you are set up with the site I recommend making a new forum post about ideas how to increase your conversions. 

I found out from googling what a HELOC was so I took one out to get more funds to up my purchase power and jumped into a 3 family.

And then an actual message comes through. 2 weeks after check out they wanted to let us know about some spider webs, a microwave built-in that was too high (based on preference), a power strip with loose wire connection and several other items that they never let us know about during their stay.

What he tells people in his webinars is that you can obtain a loan from his companies Freedom Funding & Freeland Lending with no money down, no credit check, no income verification, nothing that the banks require.  

I contacted the power company, and they directed me to the tax assessor's office to inquire about obtaining a separate address for the pool house.

Infrastrtucture is powerful, that is what China has been doing for the last 20 years.

What is the infrastructure story (do they have water/sewer/power to support growth)?

that would be an extremely powerful way to get started in a new market.