In other words, make it a daily task to reach out to contacts, search the MLS, make connections, follow up on leads. 

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'm Just starting out on this adventure and I'm looking to learn all i can from this great community. 

Wishing you the best on this new adventure!"

My idea is to offer my skills, such as social media management, painting, or assisting with various menial tasks, in exchange for the opportunity to learn the trade.

We have offshored our reservations department and have them assisting with reservations related administrative tasks but I believe you will still be extremely involved in the day to day without a PM company. 

I am about to submit to the IRS my log of 500+ hours working in the STR business, most of which come from communicating with guests, cleaners, maintenance people, Airbnb, VRBO, and managing supplies, shopping, bill paying, pricing, calendars, all the daily and weekly tasks. 

You could even define quality metrics for some of these tasks to avoid a party doing subpar work (e.g., all guest questions must be answered within X hours/days).OWNER USE: What if one party wants to use the property during the highest demand time? 

The IRS doesn’t seem to have a problem with people who meet the material participation requirements even with only a few months left in the year, as long as the hours and tasks are well-documented.

Seams aren't perfect but are not bad now, looks like it will end up being a regular maintenance task but at least I don't have to pull up the baseboards anymore!