I don't claim a home office or other business expenses and no payroll so no Schedule C. 

Why the sophistication? 

I assume the IRS will let you do payroll for the "reasonable salary" only up to the business' income. 

Was wondering if more sophisticated short-term rental investors had a general outline/spreadsheet of the furnishings that they purchase to fill their rentals. 

After you find a property that works for your numbers, make sure you find a good property manager who has either a list of contractors they use for repairs or might even have some on payroll.

These emails are convincing and sophisticated.

For example, the expert knowledge of a market researcher is critically important in the sophisticated realm of Bayesian Networks simulation and structured equation modeling -- two techniques that are conducted through computer modeling.

But reality is you have a sophisticated seller who bought very low ( when prices were so low 8 years ago) and they don't have a lot at risk.these type of portfolios don't trade at 6 caps  LOL  try double that.. for the investor who is experienced and knows what this is all about.Lastly when these things hit MLS and a commercial broker no less this is the market of last resort.. the big players have all passed.Let me know if you agree at all with my thoughts on this from your vantage point being local there in Philly..    

The amount you save on SE taxes is eaten up by payroll fees (I assume you will pay someone to set that up since local laws are always changing) and you have additional tax filing and corporate related stuff that you have to do. 

Also the financial sophistication to understand these investments.