They can also be faster and more transparent than traditional home sales.

@Jeremy Slater your relative pulled equity from the house (a HELOC i assume...) prior to selling the property to you; which you financed through a traditional lender on a 20 yr. note?

A strategy some investors use is hard money lenders to front the capital for projects and once renovated refinance the home into a traditional mortgage.

This ordinance only permits four or more persons to live in any dwelling unit if they are members of a traditional family or the functional equivalent of a traditional family.

Hopefully you develop a marketing and screening processing that will attract those who need housing for a shorter time frame and will move on to something more permanent.Another option would be to save up more money and look for a more traditional property - even a condo. 

A traditional mortgage from  regular lender (FHA, conventional)?  

How can I get a loan when I have been turned down by traditional lenders.

Make sure you buy with a big enough discount and look outside the traditional market!

There are a whole lot of factors such as age, tax bracket now and in retirement, account value, investment goals, expected return....A point I frequently make to help folks clarify their understanding is that investing in real estate with qualified funds such as an IRA or 401k is entirely different from investing in real estate with after tax funds, and comparing the two is comparing apples and oranges as a result.The better comparison is how an IRA invested in real estate compares to an IRA invested in traditional assets such as stocks.  

I think this presents an opportunity for those sites to differentiate themselves from hotel booking sites by adopting/encouraging an all-in price listing model, compounded by a marketing campaign really illustrating reason for fees & contrasting how traditional industry disguises them in their listings.