Of course, with all things, the answers to all these matters will depend on the circumstances.California tends to have more laws on the books and requirements and restrictions that it can be a good idea to form a CA LLC for out of state property so that you as a CA resident are covered, and to try to have your contracts fall under the purview of CA courts.

I find it odd as the property requires inspection every 3 years and no one else has mentioned this before. 

The pricing for this one is a little odd, at $29/month or $144/year.

If you do not build homes to keep up with population growth, it makes the existing houses unaffordable by restricting supply and stoking demand.

This is very odd especially if there was no deposit and work was performed .

Find building restrictions, structure plans/design, financing, legal issues....

I found as odd. 

The odds of that are very slim so they are also looking for help to rent a place.

How is everyone handling reservations that get cancelled or local ordinances temporarily placing restrictions? 

It does say they are in default of the lease if anybody other than the named tenants occupy the house, that they must comply with the hoa rules (which restricts str), and that subleasing / transfer of the agreement is not permitted.