Generally, renting to anyone poses certain risks to the property owner in terms of maintenance and loss of timely payments.

I spend my weekends maintaining their rental.  

Do you think I could do better while maintaining a limited level of involvement in the day to day operations from afar (California)?

What we do NOT have going for us is the ability to 'do-it-yourself,' since I can mess up a wet dream when it comes to maintaining my own property, let alone another one.

Maintain schedule devised by Landlord for light maintenance: Replace Smoke and C02 Batteries, Furnace Filters etc…If Smoke and C02 Alarms need actual replacing, it will be done by a licensed electrician.7.)

@Joe Villeneuve  I think the question being posed is how can @Tequila Browninvest in real estate without bringing any of her own money to the table.The answer is you have to have relationships with private lenders and show them that you can protect their money.  

Cap/ex/maintainance needs to be way higher I usually underwrite roughly $1000 a year per a unit.

An important factor is the building information the insurers maintain about homes.

Our property manager performs multiple inspections throughout the year, maintaining good if not better condition of our investments and we have been so pleased with their communication and  transparency in comparison to other PM's we have worked with in other parts of the country.

I would imagine she would want to do what she could to maintain and stay in the unit.