Quick takeaways to avoid this pain in the future:(A) Add strict language to your lease regarding unauthorized occupants, such as:6.

Read some studies (but consider who paid for them and their motivation :-) And cities like LA, Seattle, NY cannot blame the vacation rental market for their housing problems, those are the result of failed policies by years of leadership....Vacation rentals have many benefits over standard rentals that you might consider a) they open up areas to vacationers that would ordinarily not be accessible (not everyone wants to stay in a hotel district).b) they almost always improve the neighborhood they are located in - the house, inside and out, must always be in near-perfect condition in order for the landlord/host to stay in business.

You will likely need it for unpaid rent, cleaning and repairs, and possibly legal expenses of removing the additional, unauthorized occupants.

You can not access them directly but need to work through and agent. 

There are a few self-contained guides that you can access here: https://www.biggerpockets.com/guidesAlerts can be really helpful too: http://www.biggerpockets.com/alerts

As a realtor I have access to the MLS and as one strategy to locate my first deal Im going to keep submitting offers until I get a hit.

Located in an established working neighborhood with great access to a park and school, and near a quaint commercial district.

Otherwise you’ll wind up with unseen water penetration and all kinds of mold and nastiness within walls and other places you don’t have access to.

Our tenant just moived out and made several unauthorized changes to our house, including installing a Ring doorbell (which was removed, leaving two large holes drilled into the brick) and installing an outlet and ethernet connection on the wall above the fireplace (which he sighted as an improvement, but I'm not sure most renters will install a 40+ in mounted tv, making it an eyesore on the mantle wall in my opinion).

That being said, a seasoned sponsor may also have scale and relationships that allow for more efficient operations, and therefore actually achieve a higher return than a smaller operator, even with higher fees and earlier/larger access to carried interest.