We assumed it may have been a seasonal issue (along with pandemic related buying), as we have seen this before in the winter months here and elsewhere.

 ha ha... of course no one will remove the door especially in the middle of winter :)  by the way you only do this as last resort, you need to negotiate and understand why the tenant can't make the rent and perhaps making adjustment.

The listing agent marketed this as totally turnkey so nobody would have expected a pilot which barely lit during a brutal winter.

Although I'm anxious to buy my first property, it seems like a good time to continue educate myself, and maybe it's not a bad thing to educate and really learn a market until the winter, when (and if) the market cools off a bit.

In this time he has been running Airbnb, Vrbo, and Holiday rentals.

Not a lawyer, and I didn't stay at a Holiday Inn Express last night, but we have friends who did something similar.

Originally posted by @Marc Winter:2-step approach:  1--go to the house2--ask the owner if they are sellingCan't be shy in this business.  

Where I'm from is a bit of a complex answer, so instead I'll just say that my (stationary) friends and family are on the middle western side of Florida between Holiday and Sarasota.

In the Lake Tahoe Area,my 1 bedroom has a 3 night minimum in the winter & shoulder seasons and a 4 night minimum in the summer.

I have been analyzing deals for about 3 months now in areas served by good schools: Windermere, Winter Garden, Lake Nona, Celebration, Avalon and Meadow Woods.