We have education and networking in our monthly meetings.

If a deal doesn’t meet your criteria, don’t hesitate to walk away.4.

We make people take photos of themselves holding their ID and then I also meet them in person for the showing - at least for my units on the NW side of Chicago.I've never heard of these testers, but I am not surprised. 

I'd focus on deciding what you want to do (flip-high risk, but potentially high return...or large loss; short term rental-more work, but higher return than long term rental; long term rental-less work than the other two, but lower return).Once you've decided which you want to do, then focus on getting the best house to meet your goal. 

To avoid going through the same poor experience, keep reading.Even if someone gives you a referral here, do NOT make the mistake of assuming that the PMC will meet your expectations, just because they met the expectations of the referral source.In our experience, the #1 mistake owners make when selecting a Property Management Company (PMC) is ASSUMING instead of CONFIRMING.It's often a case of not doing enough research, as they don't know what they don't know!

I will be attending a real estate meet up tomorrow night in Seattle but would appreciate any advice before the meet up. 

(Not a lawyer so this is not legal advice) You've listed all the reasons why people fire property managers, it sounds like they've just done a poor job of meeting your expectations. 

@Patricia Andriolo-BullStessa is an excellent platform for tracking income and expenses for investors; it is user-friendly.

I ended up having to pay for their tax preparer’s time to meet with me and make corrections.

If you aren't an excel expert I wouldn't bother trying to make your own or scour the internet for an analyzer tool that may or may not meet your needs.