So a little update, I checked in with my friend and found he did list his apartment on a website designed to target Americans.

I've also had a couple tenants who tried to sign up and aren't getting the emails so they wound up paying me manually.On the plus side, it's very easy to setup and you can designate multiple bank accounts so if you have different properties, it's easy to indicate which property goes to which bank account. 

Michael does design, cost breakdowns, and some project management. 

Also, I did a lot of the design and purchasing.

Notice: All notices, demands, consists, or requests given by the Parties shall be in writing transmitted by telecopier or other means of facsimile transmission with return confirmation requested, postage prepaid, to the other Party at the last facsimile number or address the Party has designated by notice here in.

I was on pins and needles all day Friday with the wire.  

an interior designer can help you map out a new layout.

I would work with your agent some on making your offer contingent on a new roof (I have a sample scope of work blog post, designed for a fourplex standard shingle roof)...

In my experience, people that genuinely profit from vacation rentals are people that buy exceptionally smartly (truly unique location, and property, expertly designed for that vacation rental market in that area) and do not cut off their cashflow by using it themselves during peak times (or worse, giving it to generally unappreciative family members) and understand that regular reinvestment in new furniture, dishware, and maintenance is not optional. 

I graduated in 2012 with my ASA in Interior Design, I am not licensed but I've worked with a few designers in SF, and selectively on my own staging homes or commercial spaces.