Too much risk and sets bad boundaries for tenants.Many use Venmo, Zelle or just have tenants deposit at their bank (local branch).There are also several free DIY PM softwares that have rent payment built in, but they charge the tenants a fee to do so (that's how the companies make money).

I really appreciate your suggestions.The combination you might want to restrict or look more closely at are local people, booking for one night, last minute and are under 25.

I'm aware that short-term rentals aren't covered by traditional home insurance, per se, but is such the case with stays over 30 days?

Adult roommates cohabitating on my block tend to live 2 per building and keep the third bedroom, which is small, as an office or guest room. 

But remember, there are more costs like closing fees (2-5% of the property price), money for renovations (depends on the property's condition), and holding costs (covering a couple of months' expenses during renovations and finding tenants).

I only charged 1/2 of the rent for a security deposit and waived the pet fee.  

There will be punishing late fees and probably a default interest rate.

I would ask them to give me partial information atleast that does not include their information until after they sign the lease and they collect the leasing fee after which you should get all the information.

Are DST fees included in 5.25 estimate I read some as high as 20% fees?

Currently there are 4 million purchases per year and 8.5 million refinances per year.