Padsplit seems like a neat idea to me, but seems expensive. 

When you charge under market rent, the IRS deems that you do not have a profit motive and, therefore, disallows all rental expenses. 

You can ask an attorney about having them on retainer but I'm guessing they would not want that liability either and it might end up being more expensive than just getting your license.

@Bryce Nurding Rates are close to a 2 year low.

We are in a constricted market cycle, low volume, strained budgets, high costs.

Just focus on running the numbers carefully to ensure the property cash flows or at least covers expenses, and don’t hesitate to lean on resources here for advice.If you’re financing, look into FHA loans, as they’re great for first-time buyers purchasing up to 4-unit properties with low down payments.

Generally I'm a fan of hold until you die but in this case you are earning low cash flow on a large amount of equity.

Sellers generally recognize that some assets are likely mispriced, whether too high or too low, because the sellers knows less than local investors and are likely relying in large part on BPOs.   

You could also reward staff for lease renewals, positive guest reviews, and reducing unnecessary expenses.

In fact, most just print new shares to get billions to invest when stock price is high and buy the shares back when price is low.