The things we are considering; My son needs to live in his home for 4 months before renting it out [Nationwide insurance requirement] so he is planning on meeting his neighbors during that time, having coffee, lemonade, and cookies on the front porch and welcoming all to help themselves a couple hours a day, joining neighborhood watch, and he and my grandsons are already planning to ask a few of the elderly homeowners if it would be alright to paint or fix their fences or whatever [small stuff] Would these be good things?  

Long day:I'm mid thirties and in fairly reasonable shape, working out and maintaining a TIGHT chicken wing and craft beer diet.

The accounting for a STR shouldn't be much more complicated than the accounting for a lemonade stand or a garage sale.

On top of that I am a health and fitness buff, so cooking at home allows me to eat a very healthy diet.

The list of possible "cafeteria plan" benefits is extensive- child care, elder care, alternative medical treatments, special diets, a company car, etc.

Hello KarenSorry you are have this troubleUse and demand heavy type K copper pipe and have it silver soldered if its under groundHave them give you a firm price quote before they start no surprise,no working by the hour or time and material ,,,if you do everyones walking on eggshells worried about the outcome,,,,forget about it,,,get a quoteUse a licensed bonded father and son plumbing contractor recomended from a local plumbing supply house [these folks pay their bills on time and are reputable]Ask them to reroute the piping if they can so most of the new work is not under the slabHave them insulate the pipe with black foam jacket before the backfillForget PVC on the irrigation lines its crap, also install all brass sprinkler valves no plastic,,its Crap..Run your irrigation in Type K copperYour father and son plumbing contractor cam make a recomendation on a masonry /concrete contractor Use them and pay them their priceHave them walk the job with you when its done and explain what they did and discuss future maintenence issues  that might arise they will be happy to do itTake lots of smartphone photos  thru the scope of the projectMake them coffee in the morning and lemonade in the late afternoon they will love you and help you get where you want to goHope this helpsDave DoyleLos Angeles

The art of this type of investment class is taking lemons and making lemonade but I admit you can't do that with rotten lemons.  

I feel better when I eat better, but sugar still has a stronghold on me, and my family recently revolted against our vegan diet

You may consider selling the house with owner financing with your lemonade the tenant headaches in the liability and you maintain ownership while collecting a consistent cash flow.  

He never even ran a lemonade stand.Dick, excellent post.