STR is not your bag, if you want to manage your properties as passive income.

Money Bags by the short hairs.

We ask our guests to:- Bag and take out trash to bins outside- Load dishwasher and start before leaving- Put all bath linens (towels, not sheets) in a pile in the bathtub. 

You think they can't fool these with a bag of ice or hot water hung over the thermostat?

Outbuildings didn't have to be touched beyond basic clean out.I agree with others who have stated that plumbing and electrical can get you, but it's so worth working with a jack of all trades general contractor who knows her/his stuff and you know codes so you can give very specific direction and have them get the job done without having to use a full-fledged plumber.The following has nothing to do with your question about biggest expenses, but may save you big dollars in the long run:We were given some tips that have paid off: vacuum out your HVAC system to the best of your ability prior to inspection (inspectors see dirt or dust and they give you poor marks and tell potential buyers that a professional needs to be brought in to clean out the system); run Draino through your tub/shower drains (if you're leaving existing tub/shower in tact) prior to listing and test the drains to make sure there is good flow (we might or might not have used the tubs to clean paintbrushes, which resulted in REALLY slow drains); If you have a hand dug or shallow well, run bleach through it (lots of instructions online as to how to get bacteria out of the system when a hand dug well is involved) and flush the bleach immediately prior to inspection.I hope some of this helps. 

It uses about 20% of the sand and no dust .

However, why do I worry about self financing a paid off business with my primary mortgage...if I got sued or something happened to our LLC basically I could lose a paid off business and still be holding the bag on our primary residence.

If they raise it up in the near future your CF just bit the dust.  

Before I do anything with Irvine property, I will wait for the Amzn dust to settle. 

PGI was great, but now he is either too busy or doesn't care about running his company, and I am stuck holding the bag to figure out how to transfer an existing 401k plan as well as deal with an angry ex that doesn't have her money.Buyer beware.