Read the book Small Giants by Bo Burlingham, who we interviewed on our podcast.

They're only selling well below the ARV if there is a giant mess to clean up.

• Short term rental of one's own primary residence only• Not able to rent a room or primary residence for more than 120 days a year, or apply for extended home-sharing• Extended home-sharing would be granted if additional criteria are met (see above)• Possession of a Transient Occupancy (Tax) Registration Certificate from Office of Finance• Not located in a unit subject to the Rent Stabilization Ordinance (RSO)• Approval from landlord (if a tenant)• Home-Sharing takes place in area approved for residential useHere is the document - https://planning.lacity.org/or...I would give them a call and see what they say.

The apartment that I lived in just after that in Houston has gone up by $900/month in rent in that same time period (not to mention the giant disparity in value).

You are not able to choose only the after-tax portion when doing a conversion.

hot tubs in that area i would not imagine are THAT big of a necessity. they are going to be more of a non-negotiable in mountainous/woodsy/lakes regions, like in the smokies you really need to have one... however, the maintenance and headaches are notable when you have a hot tub at a STR. really only do it if you absolutely have to. when you ran the #s with that software, i wonder if the properties that do have hot tubs, also had other amenities that were driving the ADR up, and that's what you were seeing. know what i mean?

So we're not able to list on the MLS as they are not affixed to the ground.

Were you not able to find another property that worked for you? 

So I still am not able to see where the real problems are.

If you are not able to save a significant amount of money in the near future, I'd recommend something that is already renovated.