Going over maps of known repairs with contractors showed that there were a few houses where people tried to have piers installed and ran out of money before hitting stable soil, others in the hyper local area did have to go to 100+ ft.  

Market Conditions: Is the property located in a growing or stable market?

--reach out and thank them upon getting the booking and ask if they have any questions--send a "Welcome" email or automated message during the week prior to arrival--reach out the day after arrival to ask how everything was the first night and ask if there is anything that the property needs--reach out at the end of the stay (that morning or within 24 hours) and ask how everything was, anything to improve, anything to add to the house and then offer an incentive for returning guests.My 2 cents,Mike Absolutely stay in your place as Mike said.You will see things the cleaners will never let you know about.We stayed in our PF will putting up the Christmas decorations and found a cracked plastic shelf in the fridge. 

It’s stable cashflow and long term appreciation and tons of accelerated bonus depreciation on taxes. like most anything in real estate it’s a long term play. 

Section 8 could also work as a hybrid strategy here; the stable income is nice, and with good property management, it’s pretty hands-off.

Most people can't afford that hit to their income.I recommend the two college towns, Tuscaloosa and Auburn, as having affordable houses, high rents, stable tenant supply, a number of very good management companies and landlord-friendly courts.

We've got strong job growth (tech, healthcare, education), stable population growth, strong rental demand, and plenty of value-add opportunities in multifamily.

@Samuel Diouf I agree it is a stable market with low barrier to entry. 

I have improved my vetting skills quiet a bit in the last year, so things are more stable now.

I think that is a fair price and that will help me with my breathing room and hopefully help pay off my place faster, or at least so I can reach 20% equity so I can stop paying $110 a month in PMI haha.I'm obviously going to be checking credit score, making sure tenant has a stable income, no criminal background, etc.