All the friends I trust were out of town or married, and I was done living with strangers. 

I am the founder and if the club was meant to defraud people, I certainly wouldn't invest in an office building to invite strangers into my home. 

I'd decide what is reasonable in the market that you want to invest in and create a strategy around that- not what a stranger (who, very likely has never done a deal) says on the internet.Best of luck- happy investing!

Trying to raise a giant pile of money from strangers is going to be really hard.

Who will give the hard earned money to strangers? 

Every guest is a stranger. 

Instead of throwing your deal out to a bunch of strangers on the internet, I recommend you do your research to find a local expert with 20+ ACTIVE years in real estate in your market.

I do have folks that don't book because of that.That is a good thing as not understanding the distance to get places will create bad blood and cause those 2 and 3 star reviews which no one wants to see.Like @John Underwood, our place isn't cheap so we don't get the folks that destroy places.The bottom line is that you are renting out an expensive asset to strangers for 3-10 days or whatever.

As a borrower, you should do the same.Thinking back, your mom was probably smarter than you thought when she told you to stay away from strangers.

Undoubtedly, I have much to learn, but I am no stranger to long hours of study and work.