I've also leveraged their webhooks to automate additional things on my end like setting the thermostat to the appropriate temperature an hour before the guest check-in and turning it off after they check out.

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.

Claims" are an insurance matter.

@Fabio Cattolico"if I could get an out of state property for a great price and the numbers seem promising, wouldn't it be good to start off like that if I'm in a place where buying is unaffordable?"

Or were you using that more for an example?

Nothing illegal about doing that, but if caught, the lender may call the loan due and if you don't correct the situation or pay the loan off, they willstart mortgage foreclosure.3) You could also go the HELOC route to tap the equity in the home, but the 12-month owner-occupancy will also apply AND the interest rate on the HELOC will fluctuate with the Fed Fund Rate.4) You could do a cashout refi as an investment property, but that will be at an interest rate 0.5-1% higher than owner-occupied rate.Suggest you meet with 2-3 lenders to explore your options about the above.Once you have access to funds, recommend you buy a 2-4 unit with 20-25% down. - You can buy owner-occupied, live in one unit, and fix up and rent the other unit(s).- If you're handy, recommend buying a property in the worst condition you can tolerate.

That will typically generate a response from the PM to negotiate a settlement and avoid an investigation.

Yes, I am talking with an attorney tomorrow as there are a lot of pieces here.

Make an informed decision if you think people are properly trained?

Don't quote me on that, but it's easy to look up the IRS regulations.I recently had a conversation with somebody else who is planning to start an STR business.