$30k grant cannot harm me  :). wish I was in NY State...Congratulations once again and happy investing....

I am concerned about issues regarding substance over form.

As far as insurance, I'm not certain how much your regular homeowner's insurance would cover in an STR situation (although honestly I'd be surprised if that negated the contract), but Airbnb holds $1M in liability on your property, and an additional $1M in property and bodily harm.

When I reached out to this place and asked some simple questions the person who answered the phone could not tell me if they were capable of what I was asking.Is there harm in using places that are not local?

So, setting up bank accounts isn't necessary because the money is all in 1 LLC, and money can't be sued (it doesn't harm anyone).I am no attorney. 

You will be surprised how little a $5 Million policy will cost,,and that is what can protect you (and the insurance company will also defend you in a lawsuit because of that).I read people wanting to form LLCs, series LLC's, etc etc,,,for the average investor, it is just a big waste of your time and money.Remember a conforming mortgage (30 year fixed rate) are only for individuals, not for LLC's or other entities,,,then people say they will finance in their personal name and move into an LLC,,of course that could trigger a due on sale clause, but also that is a waste,,if your financing the property in your personal name, your tied to it.How you stay out of liability issues is doing things right, don't have a handy man doing electrical work, and make sure you take care of any issues that could cause harm to anyone.

These things are symptoms that could potentially do you greater harm.

I think the reason brokering itself is still relevant is because not everyone entering the business has capital of their own and they need a low-cost solution in how to make some money.No harm in that.But spending $1,500 on a direct mail campaign to get a 1% response rate and (maybe if I'm lucky) closing 1-2 deals is not my idea of fun.The solution is not to eliminate training people how to broker, but to update it so people can be successful at it.

I was truly hoping I would get a response, because I don't think Clayton is a bad person, and don't think he purposely sends people toward harm, but I do think he is, perhaps, trying to move too quickly, grow too fast, and, in the process, is guiding, even encouraging his buyers to make bad decisions.

According to the Internet if the roots are tangled with nearby plants or trees, then those could get harmed too.