Self-manage make sense?

[K W]

We are looking at a 6-unit property that is located about 1.5 hours away from us. We want to manage it ourselves and pay a gardener and a handyman to take care of everything on that end.

We understand that there may be instances when the handyman isn't available and we'll need to head to the property - not a problem since my work schedule is very flexible.

Is there a reason that I should not manage it myself from that distance? What about rent collection - is it reasonable to ask tenants to pay by mail, or what other option would you give? (Probably not a computer type renter for online payments)

On your properties, what is the average number of visits you need to make per month/year, etc? I don't want to get into this and find out I have to go down there for something several times a month.

Any comments or suggestions on how you handle things and what works for you would be greatly appreciated! Thanks.