Some of the further out areas seem like a good investment and appreciation play but I personally don't want to live out there yet. 

I also know that they "didn't know about the sale ahead of time", so I have to imagine that played a role in the lien. 

FB Marketplace is also fairly easy to use, but depending on your location it can be a waste of time.

I don't think they differentiate the rental type for the writeoffs.I've researched this a fair amount, from what I understand there's an exception section 469 of the tax code that says if you actively manage the str and have an average stay length of 7 days or less then it's treated as an active business and the income is therefore not passive and expenses are able to be written off against W2 income.

I will play devil's advocate here. 

Trying to save money by foregoing insurance is playing russian roulette.

I have to ask where you got some of the info in your post because to be fair and accurate if its from a media outlet.  

As mentioned if the holding company is not solely holding or owning assets together funneling monies as a loan would further complicate if there is a default but also cause you to file extra tax returns = $...Yes you are taxed on interest income or any money that you make, does not matter how you structure it, what comes into play is not how much your taxed but how much you pay someone to figure out for you how much you need to pay and each layer is an added cost. 

Perform the same task in each app to ensure a fair comparison.Load a property with pictures and details.Market that property.See what your marketing looks like from the public's perspective.Submit a fake application to see how easy the process is.Run a credit/screening report on yourself.Enter a maintenance request, assign a vendor, and attach a fake invoice.Enter charges to the tenant's ledger.Enter recurring charges and automatic late fees.Sign documents electronically.Run owner reports.After testing a few apps, one should clearly stand out.

Hopefully, the landlord and tenants can mutually agree on an early move-out and fair compensation.