Legal and ethical implications: Agents engaging in such practices may face:Legal consequencesLicensing penaltiesEthical violationsThese actions ultimately harm consumers by restricting options and potentially inflating costs.The new system, allowing buyers and their agents to negotiate commissions directly, promotes transparency and fair competition.

This is why I stress the importance of knowing the laws and the strength of the legal system before investing in a particular market.

I only ask because the main purpose of an LLC is legal protection, and if you don't have a large amount of assets to protect, say less than $1M...you may be putting the cart before the house, and it may make more sense for you to focus more on finding and closing more deals.

Hey BPer'sI am trying to understand the legal aspect of security deposits as it pertains to a trust account in North Carolina. 

For US government purposes, our legal residence is a family member's home where we stay when we are in the US.Thanks for the DSCR info.

I’m currently looking into the best ways to structure guest payment flows to ensure legal compliance (that may restrict non-licensed property managers from collecting rent directly) and seamless operations.

Ask legal counsel though.

Then in 6 months refinance into a conventional loan and you can exit the property legally. 

but working with someone who is local to your market, who can show you their legal documents that they have used, introduce you to a proper title/attorney office for drafting documents...I mean, nothing is foolproof...but that route will have a significantly higher success rate. 

I also manage hundreds of residential and commercial properties outside of STRs so I actually understand how seller friendly these platforms are compared to the legal and government system outside of STR world need to deal with.