If it is a multi-unit property, and you are the tenant without the cat, your agreement is with the landlord and it is their problem.IF you are either the landlord or the person with the cat, its the tenant with the cats problem. 

Your paying for expertise, guidance and with the right person you will potentially save thousands in other ways. 

I am personally staying away from STR‘s and MTR‘s because of its inconsistency.

You have code enforcement issue in one of those cities and they do not know you, your life is not going to be easy meanwhile the person who has been there for 10 years and knows the inspectors families name will have a very different outcome than yours. 

My 2 cents would be that since it is your personal property that your CPA is right but im far from a tax professional!

Sometimes people who are comfortable managing the details of a job will hire a less skilled person to do it knowing they can get a MUCH better price and a "decent" job IF they themselves stay on top of how the work is being done.

I personally like to manage the risk and take it slow and true. 

Determining whether the venture falls under a service or rental business hinges on the provision of substantial services; for instance, if a bed and breakfast service is offered, it must be reported on Schedule C, triggering a 15.3% self-employment tax.Moreover, personal use plays a crucial role in the classification of the property.

Either A) you need to want a ski Airbnb/VRBO for the personal use of it but not the investment aspect of it or B) you need to be okay with some of the areas within 45 minutes of the ski areas that are totally open to short-term rentals and where the numbers are better.

@Hannah Potter Here are the things that many CPAs support their clients with:Understanding tax impact of short-term vs. long-term vs. flip before you buyWhich entity structure is best for goals and investment property typeTax and compliance on LLC or S-CorpHow to transfer property out of personal name into LLC (hard to buy 1st through entity)Ways to optimize taxes throughout the yearHow best to set up accounting to track income and expenses (doing this late is a mess)Feedback on property management systems, accounting systems. systems, etcEstimated payments to avoid penaltiesKnowing when to file and getting things in on timeMaybe a few things I missed, but this is the high-level ….. if you can get answers to the above questions on your own, plan, and file your own taxes then you can avoid the expense of a CPA.