You are generally correct that there is an annual exclusion for gift taxes that generally passes tax-free (of course, in all situations, exceptions apply and you have to meet all requirements to qualify). 

My question is when applying for the lease, most properties in my market are run by a management company.

Refinished hardwood floors, updated fixtures, and applied neutral paint colors.           

Usually the type of work has to be dealing with the real estate itself, not just providing a service that is applied to a part of the house/building. 

DC Investment Property:First read your bylaws and see if there are rental restrictions.Note, in DC you need to apply for and have a business license to rent property.

Consider that the 10% to 18% cost of the DST would be applied to the entire amount of the investment, whereas the capital gains tax would be applied only to the gain.

Your wife and her sister could then apply for a HELOC on the property, using the funds for investment purposes.If you are the primary investor, the new property should be held in an LLC, with your wife and her sister as the members.

If you want to only do PM I'd recommend just looking on LinkedIn, or Indeed and applying for local apartment communities.  

When a tenant moves out, transfer the deposit back to Checking so it's ready to apply towards expenses or to refund to the Tenant.If you end up with excess funds in the Checking account, I recommend you transfer it to a third account that is specifically designated for future investments.

Why not just apply for a hard money loan?