The issue is that I would gamble they will not pay via money order to your P.O.

Before I just chalked it up to karma, if I really didn't want to pay for a lawyer, I'd at least take the gamble of representing myself and bringing my 3 witnesses. 

To me, one is an act of kindness, the other would be funding what equates to a gambling addiction.I'm glad I'm not in your shoes. 

Their gamble.  

@Mags S.Have you noticed any characteristics about applicants that indicate they will be either good or bad?

At the end of the day, people are unpredictable and leasing anything to anyone is a little bit of a gamble.

I'd leave it at that, unless you want to gamble regarding them taking you to court.If your contract says you provide a working fridge, then fixing it would be on you anyway.But, you can sure charge them for cleaning it - if you did everything else right.  

If you are not making cash flow you are gambling on tomorrow instead of investing in today.

As both a short and long term rental owner I’ll just add a few words of caution here...AirBnB and other vacation rental sites like HomeAway are great for the purpose they originated: short term rentals, but they offer minimal protection for the concerns of many owners needing to secure their properties for longer lease terms.As a traditional property manager I’m far more interested in ensuring I pull a full criminal background check, speak with a potential tenant’s present and prior landlord, confirm consistent employment/income sources for > 6 months, and ensure a potential tenant has a track record of paying other bills they have agreed to in writing like credit cards, car loans, and others.On the contrary, at best AirBnB/HomeAway/others give me the following info on guest/tenant: a blurry selfie (that could be their dog)confirmation of a non-specific government IDconfirmation of an email address I can’t seecurrent city/state of residencelist of reviews by individuals running a different AirBnB (that I have no way of confirming is not the guest’s best friend)Property insurance secured by (and in the interest of) someone who is not meWhile I’m OK with taking a gamble on unknown guests using my property for short term stays, stays of longer than 1 month generally involve: Someone looking to move significant belongings in with them (that I cannot legally remove in most states)Moving in for a period of time they’re generally unable to pay for entirely upfrontTenants receiving access only after a legally-executed lease, criminal, background, credit, and income check that’s par for the course in a professional, term stay arrangementEven beyond the blatant lack of risk mitigation tactics common in long term lease agreements, the fact remains that many STR platforms are also skimming 10-20% of gross revenue off the top of owners’ profits for little beyond the initial SEO and payment processing.

Really, I have to agree with Greg on this one, as far as it being easy to deny them, and from my personal experience, it's worth the gamble.