So, for those who frequently hire contractors (good ones), how do you find good contractors?

We do sight unseen frequently.

Overall we have vastly more “good” tenants, and the law allows you to get rid of the bad tenants and maintain a desirable place to live for the good tenants who you want to keep.High-maintenance <=> High-Return: Those prior two points drive what I meant when I said the cash flows and NOI should be about double what they are on a “vanilla” MF (multi-family) purchase at the same price point, but it can be a high-maintenance proposition to manage the screening on the front end, the day-to-day management issues, the more frequent turnover and vacancies, and the frequency of needed court filings to get the keys back from a tenant when somebody is not being a good neighbor to your other tenants in the lodging house.Bottom line: We think we were right on point five years ago when we identified that SROs fill a critical niche that is in extremely high demand.

While Canadian-specific groups aren't as prominent on Bigger Pockets, there's a thriving community of investors here who frequently collaborate across borders, especially when it comes to cross-border investing strategies and tax considerations.If you’re interested in connecting with more Canadian investors, I’d recommend starting by joining the BP groups focused on international investing.

Most buyers and sellers are vulnerable because they don't buy/sell real estate frequently; licensed agents (me) take pride in "guiding and protecting" clients from transactions that can go wrong. 

I used to live in Lake County and worked on a project in Grass Valley so I would drive highway 20 frequently. 

For a Mid-term rental, I would say furnishing it with the cheapest but most durable furniture possible because of the frequent turnover.

Initially I was worried about having older guests more frequently which is what I have heard about VRBO.

Some counties will only give you a list by email or tell you to look at the county legal newspaper, but many counties post a list on their websites, which are updated frequently. 

Buying a piece of heavy equipment like an excavator or Bobcat can definitely save you money long-term if you're going to continue to use it frequently.