I hired Jenny Yi to design our latest STR in person, she demanded that I pay the full amount of her services upfront, $7,500, which I thought was strange as we are used to paying half upfront and half once it's completed, but proceeded anyway because a couple of people recommended her.

• Should utilities, internet, or services like snow removal/lawn care be included, or not?

At about half of my properties I provide quarterly exterior pest control services.

Hi Jonathan,Jay’s Fencing (209-847-3992), Elite Iron Fencing (209-968-6685), and Fletcher Fencing (209-662-8298) are solid options to get bids from and compare.I also offer consulting services to help clients navigate projects like this—whether it’s evaluating bids, ensuring the scope of work is clear, or helping you avoid potential issues during the process.

After that is returned, I do a background check through Transunion or a similar service. 

Hi @Augusta OwensFirst off thank you for your service! 

.- Leverage Serviced Housing & Co-Living Models: High-end, furnished rentals for military professionals, digital nomads, and traveling contractors.Example Strategy- Raise $1M from 10-20 investors (military/gov personnel) to buy 3-5 properties in Germany or Spain.- Use seller financing & local bank loans to maximize purchasing power.- Rent properties to military families, U.S. contractors, or co-living tenants for stable cash flow.- Utilize local tax incentives and investment visas to increase ROI.Why This Could Be a Billion-Dollar Play- Solves a real problem for U.S. military/gov professionals looking to invest overseas.- Provides stable, built-in demand (military personnel have guaranteed salaries & housing stipends).- Creates an alternative wealth-building strategy for a niche group of investors.- More scalable than traditional rentals.

Obviously lots of factors play into this (market, debt service, etc.).

If you are trying to come up with a way to finagle the occupancy requirements while using an amazing loan (that you earned based on your service) like a VA, I would say you are starting off on the wrong foot.

In a situation where you were doing an arbitrage (renting it from the owner, then yourself re-renting it to someone else) your costs to renovate/fix it up while you're using it would be able to be capitalized and depreciated by you once your rental was in service (available for rent to others).