Instead of increasing rent, I would look at having the security deposit increased to protect against wear and tear.

There’s no specific IRS rule against refinancing a cash purchase and deducting the interest, as long as the property is used for investment purposes and the loan is secured by it.

I have several questions - imagine being able to split up property ownership into tiny pieces or having every transaction out there for everyone to see, all secure and tamper-proof.

With really bad credit I do require (in addition to first month and security deposit) 1/2 to a full last month's rent and/or a good honestrenter.com score.

My biggest hurdle has been securing financing to work on multiple projects simultaneously.  

Combining these strategies often gives investors the best balance of cost, simplicity, and security.

You would choose the tenant so you would have a decent amount of security on who is living there.

Consider all the things that could go wrong and see if the lease addresses them: unauthorized pets or tenants, early termination, security deposit, lease violations, late rent, eviction, lawn maintenance, parking, etc.5.

I can have separate bank accounts, debit cards, security deposit accounts etc. and now with new features like automatic recurring transfers things are even easier and time efficient 

Like the others said, I don't see how VRBO would even know you had a direct booking, or what would make them think they're privy to commission on a booking they didn't secure.