Late December rents are ~$250/night (weekend and weekday are virtually the same with New Years Eve being highest).The prices our PM sets results in very few vacancies. 

Today not many bank owned properties and even it is they're ok with it as long as you can provide operating agreement and articles of incorporation to ensure arms length transaction.

The government pays part of the rent and tenant is responsible for part of the rent - the ratio is determined by the government.Pros - government guarantees the rent and depending on the situation, the rent checks are virtually automatic and like clockwork.

@Mike TerrySelf-directed IRA funds can be invested into virtually anything except collectibles and life insurance contracts.

@Matt Gilroy  I live and operate a residential property business in Washington State.

Without too much effort (and after quickly responding to and fixing some of the things that needed improvement when just starting out), short term renting on Airbnb ended up covering our breakeven costs for those 3 months.Last week our daughter and the other students moved in, so the house is now operating in student rental mode. 

In your area look for the potential economic drivers that are operational today that may attract outside investment.

Please correct me if I am missing some line items here, but here are the working numbers for the property:+ Gross Rental Income: $150,000- Cleaning Fees: ($21,600)- Management Fees:  ($19,260)- Property Taxes: ($3,700)- Insurance: ($2,400)- Trash & Local Tax: ($650)- Utilities: ($7,200)- Pest Control ($560)- Supplies/Maintenance: ($1200)- Acct/Legal: ($1500)TOTAL EXPENSES = ($58,070)Net Operating Income = $91,930---Based on my limited understanding of the local CAP rates for similar properties in Philadelphia, PA 19106 it looks like 5-6% is a realistic number. 

The issue is that the initial cash flow is lower than most locations (and much lower than the virtually 0 appreciation markets). 

They are becoming more and more common/popular in the Joshua Tree area of California where I am an active investor/VRBO operator.