I contend the more people push for direct bookings the harder for AirDNA to account for it and as said above they have no way to account for uniqueness (location, amenities, build).

No I would not say this is the case anywhere.

Typically lenders would request 2 months of rental receipt + bank statement showing the tenant paying the 2 months of rent to the landlord OR 1 months of rent + security deposit if the lease just started.

Can the 3 weeks in lost rent be taken out of the old tenant's security deposit or would we need to seek for those damages separately in court?

Remember there is no perfect data or website that will tell you the best place to invest. 

NO, do one or two, then worry about a CPA, You are months and months away from even doing a deal, Get one 1st, everything else is easy 

No

No

As we get older, we no longer have the desire to add more homes to our portfolio.That said, with our experience doing rehabs, working with private funding and with the majority of our homes paid off, we are now in a good place to start offering investment funding ourselves. 

When you renew, you can add a pet deposit with the new lease.