Generally if you average 7 or fewer nights or 8-30 nights and provide "substantial" services such as tours, house cleaning during a stay, meals, etc you DO have to pay self employment tax.Kudos to this CPA site (tarlow. com/2018/01/02/tax-ramifications-short-term-rental/):"When property is rented for short periods, special (and sometimes complex) taxation rules come into play, which can make the rents excludable from taxation; other situations may force the rental income and expenses to be reported on Schedule C (as opposed to Schedule E).If you have been renting your home or second home for short periods of time, here is a synopsis of the rules governing short-term rentals so you can prepare yourself for the upcoming tax season.Rented for Fewer Than 15 Days During the Year: If you rent your property for fewer than 15 days during the tax year, the rental income is not reportable, and the expenses associated with that rental are not deductible.

This is a buy & hold play for our first investment.

So they're playing it safe. 

We saw a way to help out the seller in a time of need and there was a large value add play for someone who had the money and experience to take care of the major leak and mold issues.

It's an idea I've been playing with.

It's easier to walk through life playing the victim.

It hasn't happened yet and they have a backup however I prefer to play it safe. 

(And keeping your numbers accurate and your rehabs running smooth) Another route to utilizing this 300k would be to spend a weekend in Vegas playing blackjack and buying Mai Tais...but those days are behind me!

However, I would not play with this because that is a great way to land yourself in prison for mortgage fraud.

An update on how everything turned out - including how expenses played out - would be greatly appreciated.