(Either a summary or a link)My greatest fear is getting hosed or taken to the cleaners by someone who knows the market and REI, the law, the accounting, far better than I do.

When I went back to pay the cleaners (we do extra sanitizing after each tenant), the cleaners pointed out that the blinds had been replaced, and were half the size of the original blinds, and didn't reach the bottom of the window.Another example....

And find new cleaners.

I'm under contract for my first STR and need a program that will sync with booking sites and manage the calendar, communicate with the guests (auto responder) and my cleaners, and do this for a price that is reasonable. 

I washed the walls with a bleach cleaner and then I used Killz 2 the oil based primer on the walls, and baseboard.

Landlord reserves the right to hire professional cleaners and be reimbursed by Tenant if it is determined that Tenant is not sufficiently cleaning house."

As a rookie investor I'm a little nervous about getting taken to the cleaners by a contractor that is dishonest.

You could do an Option to take the property subject-to an existing lien, but it would be much cleaner to have them as two seperate contracts with the Option describing the subject-to tarnsaction.Trying to take an option on an existing sub-2 ?

It makes the glass disappear, it makes the place look cleaner and it makes the place look brighter also.

Most real estate attorneys should be able to set this up.The title stays cleaner and the chain of ownership is clear.You will avoid paying huge fees.Check out private mortgages here on BP.