Eric,, I think why people go for the fund model is the idea that they are spreading their money into multiple notes being held by the company.. while in theory this is great but as you noted you don't really have any security compared to being the beneficiary of the debt instrument IE debt is in your name. 

Follow all safety requirements your Insurance Company plus city and county require.This usually includes childproof access and alarms.

Have a great foundation repair company in your contacts list as well as a great structural engineer.Some flippers thrive on these properties as without repair they can be difficult to finance with financing an owner/occupant would use. 

- Do you disclose the company name on your msg template? 

A lot of investors are jumping to secondary lines of insurance coverage and the problem with those is that the companies are based in the Cayman Islands or the Bahamas a lot of the time, and it is suspect that they would actually pay out if the need arose unfortunately.   

Built a 20 person company around our own portfolio.

The company yes, the loan officer no. 

Some similar phone numbers and such to other short term companies that other people said were scams.

I’m struggling to understand why all of this is necessary just to use their property management software.

There are short-term rental management companies that can help with that.One that I work with in Michigan covers the entire state and can advise on local short-term rental regulations or regulations that may be on the way, they can give you an analysis of the demand for short-term rentals in that area, nightly rates in that area, monthly occupancy percentage, and projected monthly income.They also let you choose the level of service you would like from them from full service to minimal.To your success!