The lessons you learned the hard way in 2008 will be invaluable now, and it’s great that you’re aiming to stay small-scale and within your comfort zone of Sacramento, which gives you an advantage of knowledge in that market.Given your experience, I'd say start by focusing on three key areas to build confidence and minimize risks:Budget Control: Over-renovating was one of the big mistakes you mentioned.

Neither VRBO nor Airbnb are vetting guests, either.The best you can do is have some internal controls, such as minimum number of nights.

You can tell the tenant that they can ignore the notice as long as they follow through on paying.As the landlord you want to maintain control of the situation - not allow the tenant to do so.

If one wants Precision, become an engineer.

There are controllers on each end for 1-player or 2-player games, then a second set of controls on the side for head-to-head games like Street Fighter.We have a cheat-sheet with instructions under the glass, and we have a book with laminated pages that lists the instructions and the games.

Pricing tools that exist on the market are decent, but you also need to know how to control it, otherwise, it will go nuts with unrealistic rates far out and extreme last-minute discounts. 

The sooner you regain control, prove that you fully intend to enforce the terms of your lease, and that you will not be 'played' by their recall of events or documents, the more effective this action will be.  

Even with trump's aggressive plans for mass deportation and border security, I also have to think long term about future presidents' agendas towards border control too, and anticipate potential presidents being more loose on border security.

You lose all of the control and these are long term investments - but in my experience the returns match what I had on the active real estate and I am hiring professionals to manage the assets.  

Leverage is a big factor in real estate investing, as investors can control large assets with relatively small down payments, increasing their potential returns (and risks).6.