If they are going to be there post closing, at minimum have your agent do a final walk and take photos and video as you will now be the landlord and responsible to hold them accountable for any damage, so document.Once you get it up as a STR, you should go at least once a quarter to make sure cleaners are doing a great job and make any needed repairs or adjustments.

You will literally never get a good product from guys like this.Second -  Never, never. never let the Contractor get ahead of you in the progress payments.

Please feel free to reply to this post or send me a direct message.

Makes sense, if you allow the seller to have logging rights post-closing.

@Jarrett LukasI know this post is old, but curious if you ever found what you were looking for! 

I'm (26M) super new to real estate investing and this is my first post ever so thank you for any help! 

I challenge you to find and post a single reputable reference that does not show San Diego to have historically produced outstanding returns for a modest length hold.  

I determined from your initial post that you are looking to invest in a property vs buying one, rehabbing it and then renting it out yourself. 

Hey Marlon, that first link you posted, when one goes to it, it pulls up anyone with "Houston" in their name.

Both posts give me quite a bit to think about.I’m not planning on doing anything sketchy and plan on being a very good landlord with quality properties, but I just want to make sure I’m protected.