Primary to Rental

[Corey T.]

Good evening!

I have just accepted a job several states away and would like to convert my primary residence into an investment property. I have been reading all across these forums and google, but I wanted to post my "to do" & "unanswered question" list for our resident experts to analyze and let me know what critical step I'm missing.

1) Get landlord insurance instead of home insurance
2) Interview and find a good PM (Lynchburg, VA - anybody have a lead?)
3) Do I have to contact my bank? I'm assuming not as long as I personally am still paying the note.
4) Accumulated approximately $3k in "safety net" funds earmarked specifically for the house for vacancies/repairs. Will be added to on a monthly basis up to about $6k at which point I'll put more towards the mortgage. I don't need cash flow, I just want a paid off property in 15 years.
5) At this point I am not interested in setting up an LLC. I don't have major equity or assets at this point - good luck wringing a drop out of me now! I would set one up within 2-3 years though once I find a good attorney.
6) Would the PM handle lawn maintenance in their 10% cut? Or is that extra?
7) Do PM's send you monthly statements? How do you settle up on extra maintenance costs?

I appreciate the advice guys, thank you!