It's certainly a creative way to source motivated property owners, but it can also lead to manipulative tactics/practices from others by utilizing their unfortunate situation, leaving a sour feeling in my gut. 

I get the feeling they don't really know what they're doing, either.

I just feel like why would i spend $300/sqft.And thenn lets get to interest rates minimally its 7% good game.And when i see real estate sales they all dropping priceI dont want to be left holding the bag but tell me how do you do this?

Get a feel for the big stuff and just pad your numbers.

But all he has lost is time, whereas my wife and I have taken on all the financial risk.My questions for the group are, how do we feel about the split?

Feel free to send me a DM if you want to discuss by phone. 

Understand how they slipped through the cracks - did you allow them to book even if you got a bad feeling, priced too low, last minute booking, etc? 

If you own a vacation rental in the Smokies, it might feel like demand is soft.

It really comes down to what specific documents you need from the tenant that you'll feel secured and comfortable of renting it to him/her.The typical criteria would be credit, background check, renters insurance, first + last month of rent + security deposit.

Agree with Wilson, Tracy is not so attractive but feels Modesto area still has charm, one more point to note is ROI will not be in new homes but some possibility in 1980s with some TLC.