With this plan I would need cleaners and contractors/handymen.

It's also harder as a small owner to find good services of handyman/cleaners than it is to do the other stuff once it is set up.  

For you self-managers, how do you pay your cleaners?

When you get that bad guests that starts complaining and wanting partial refunds if a refund is in order do not pay out the refund until after their stay and after your cleaner lets you know all is well.  

Are you looking to become their go-to cleaner or researching to hire your own? 

Then they need to get cleaners lined up (and they often have several units turning over at the same time, so that takes a few days) and have to do inspections and then fix things.

This will keep things cleaner for bookkeeping and for when tax time comes around.

It was really hard to schedule cleaners and contractors for repairs on such short notice, and, though we were able to get some of them, my husband ended up doing a great deal of work on the unit (and had to cancel a number of his plans in order to do so).

Please no comments on how I'm losing money and I should get better cleaners.

What areas allow STR, How do you comp strs, how do i find a good cleaner/handy man etc.