You're dealing with the general public and if you're serious about having a STR business it needs to be set up and run as such!

And from public record the 4 or 5 I looked at are/were REO purchases as they state.With the amount they seem to be making (with the claim "without doing any of the work ourselves") in their business, why would they bother with seminars?

And if you don't like someone challenging what you put in words online, don't write anything publicly. 

Consider all the things that could go wrong and see if the lease addresses them: unauthorized pets or tenants, early termination, security deposit, lease violations, late rent, eviction, lawn maintenance, parking, etc.5.

He just got a social security number and has signed the lease.

The vast majority of lawsuits against Landlords are for wrongful eviction, security deposit disputes, and Fair Housing Violations.

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.

I've seen a lot of posts about folks not being able to secure financing on their property.

As a hard money lender, I specialize in helping new investors secure the funding they need for their flips, focusing more on the property's potential rather than just the borrower’s experience.

In reality, besides maybe public sewer capacity, nothing I list isn't able to be overcome, but it could get very costly.You will want to talk to with a GC and potentially the building department directly to understand any issues that may keep you from executing on this plan.