I couldn’t agree more   Real estate is a piece to the puzzle of living and some people need more puzzle pieces then others   Listening to the BP money podcast is a great example of some smoke and mirrors     Some of their FIRE people saying they live on 24,000 a year seems to me like a made up number.  

Operating account for administrative stuff like signs or supplies. 

https://www.har.com/content/newsroom/Houston Real Estate Highlights in April: Single-family home sales rose 7.8 percent year-over-year, with 7,586 units sold, marking the third consecutive month of positive sales and the biggest volume increase of 2019;On a year-to-date basis, single-family home sales are 2.2 percent ahead of 2018’s record pace;Days on Market (DOM) for single-family homes edged up from 56 to 57 days;Total property sales increased 7.8 percent, with 9,063 units sold;Total dollar volume jumped 9.6 percent to about $2.7 billion;The single-family home median price rose 2.1 percent to $245,000, achieving an April high;The single-family home average price was up 1.9 percent to an April high of $310,676 – the second highest average of all time;Single-family homes months of inventory reached a 4.0-months supply, up from 3.5 months last April and the most plentiful level since September 2018.

Are rentals in short supply there or are there plenty of units available?

Worst case if something happens to the developer, you would have the land.Reality is at this time supply and demand are in favor of sellers (developers).

The growth in the Daytona Area and the limited supply of rentals has really pushed rents up. 

The only other thing we do for the cleaners is have a well working washer and dryer in place, a well stocked cleaning supplies closet, and then we have them do a deep clean once a month to clean fan blades, change vent filters, and restock the supply closet.

My lease says the house does not permit smoking in the house. 

Many of them are knowledgeable and/or ex contractors themselves.For help finding reliable contractors, go to your largest plumbing and electrical supply house (not Home Depot or Lowes) and speak to the counter person. 

Vacancy - Rent rate and occupancy rate go hand-in-hand - monitor REVPAR per weekday/weekend/month to really know how you're doingutilities including wifi and surveillance - ideally with remote monitoring and locked in at reasonable temps, smoking/noise/party detectors perishable supplies (paper, coffee, soaps, etc.), linens (towels, sheets, comforters - they need to be thrown out every 3-12 months), Lawn care - not just mow and blow, but garden beds tooPest control - 80/qtr furniture - it doesn't last forever.Maintenance - normal + changing light bulbs, fixing furniture, loose doorknobs, etc.Administrative software - dynamic pricing engine, guest communication system Hosting fees - this is not a passive model.