The only thing I could think of is maybe if they have a very small % of ownership in the building (and I mean maybe 5% or so) and they take more of a payout up front and less of a payout as the property performs and appreciates; but again a good operator realizes that having equity in an asset is valuable so I'd be cautious of this type of setup. 

If one property isn't performing well, the others can compensate.

Here in Texas the title company performs this due diligence very early and sends to the buyer a title commitment that outlines any additional liens.

My recommendation for your first year is to team up with someone who's been in the business for a while and be open to doing the grunt work while you learn.A typical day for us consists of sometime in the home office following up on calls, emails, tasks.....

I self-performed the design and construction management.

Knowing that just because you're skilled at a task doesn't necessarily translate into having a successful business.

But I'm using the current RE craze to exit all of my OOS properties as I've found that my multi-units within CA simply perform much better and have appreciated much more as well.

You wasted their time (in their opinion) by not being able to perform on your end.c) This is a business... 

The Florida Panhandle (Panama City Beach, Destin, 30a)  has stellar performance, without having to worry about the rules and regulations that the larger cities might put in place against STR.

Spend time and due diligence in proportion to the task being performed.