I was interested in this topic as well, hopefully we can gain some insight to this.I'm wondering if you're able to achieve anything that would cash-flow as oppose to an appreciation/break even cottage play considering the short length of the rental season. 

A lot of investors who are having price/cash flow issues are looking to other markets and investing OOS.I suggest reading this article on OOS investing! 

There isn't any benefit to us to go through the extra work of background check, get lawyer to approve language etc. 

Prior to that I went through the education modules and took the test to be able to be certified and make the purchase. 

I’ve combed through a year’s worth of police reports and found no phone record from the property.

Due to the location (southern LA) the only property insurance I could obtain is through the state's FAIR plan, which does not include liability.

I've had success with repeat guests from the major platforms booking through Houfy, which is a platform that is essentially direct booking.  

I have done some zoning research and it is a big hassle especially with them being out of state (looking to move back home) to try and jump through all the legal hoops to do this. 

If the salesperson can't give you an answer, request to speak with the Area Sales Manager (or whoever is managing that salesperson).I have never worked with Ryan Homes, but in my experience with my builder-clients, we typically want to continue using the model/sales office at least through sellout and potentially even longer depending on how many homes remain to be closed.

Avail, Apartments.com, Buildium, RentRedi, and several other platforms allow you to make leases that can be signed online electronically and also will then collect rent through their portal.