@Andrew Street re: "Have you noticed if VRBO gave you any explanation when they finally deleted your listing?"

Thanks for the detailed explanation!

Make sure you have a good explanation of why this is a legitimate deal (for your own benefit), and don’t try to oversell your experience.Best of luck to you, Raymond.

Expect pushback on the explanation and verification from the underwriter as they are going to view this as a high risk of occupancy fraud.

I appreciate the comprehensive explanation. 

No explanation but I think we all know what happened.

And your entire plan then collapses.Here is an explanation of the challenges of buying an STR late in the year:https://www.biggerpockets.com/forums/51/topics/1220969-expla...Your line of credit idea is completely different.

My recommendation would be to plan to achieve a diversified portfolio across sponsors, geographical areas and asset classes. 

-Mexico citizen, born and raised in Colorado, and over the past few years I’ve been actively investing in Mexican real estate — mostly in presale condos and long-term or vacation rental markets like Guadalajara, Cancún, and Lake Chapala.I originally started by looking for affordable, well-located properties for personal use, but as I dug deeper, I realized there were real opportunities for long-term appreciation, rental income, and geographic diversification — often with as little as $20–30k down.The process isn’t as complicated as people think, but there are definitely key things to understand, including:How foreigners can legally own property in Mexico (especially in restricted zones like the coast),How presale contracts and developer relationships work,What kinds of rental strategies are viable in different markets (Airbnb, mid-term, or traditional long-term),Currency and exchange rate considerations, title safety, and banking between the U.S. and Mexico.One major advantage of presale in Mexico is that many developers offer in-house, interest-free financing during construction, allowing buyers to spread out payments over 24–36 months — without involving a bank or mortgage process.

@Alan AsriantsExcellent breakdown — this is one of the clearest explanations of depreciation and recapture I’ve seen.