Spoiler alert- Phx is quite a saturated STR area, and many STR's (although some are doing great) are having major occupancy issues. 

The issue I see most is the cashflow gets crushed by HOA fees and the added headaches of having them tweaking rules etc. 

Requiring a copy of a government-issued ID is a good extra layer of security.

. - Just be prepared, because a motivated seller typically has a property with issues you need to be sure you can solve.

If I had to speculate, I would say they are facing some serious liquidity issues.

Many are also tired of homeless issues, politics, and now more than ever natural disasters. 

@Aaron Raffaelli, I’m sorry to hear that you are having issues qualifying.

But to sum up your truly relevant point, all you are really saying is that there is high default risk when you deal with people who have poor credit history or some other financial issues.

Hiring someone to do the work will likely cost too much (I would charge a small fortune, it's an incredible amount of work) and doing things as cheaply as possible will bite you in the *** later when you start having issues with your own shoddy work and/or materials.

There's a good chance the issue(s) you face has already been discussed and answered.Ask questions in the appropriate forum.