@Adam RossRecommend exploring as many sources as possible to get referrals AND cross-reference them to get as much accurate information as possible.Check out NARPM.com, BP’s Property Manager Finder (BiggerPockets: The Real Estate Investing Social Network), etc.Also, encourage you to learn from the mistakes of others - by reading posts here on BiggerPockets about owners not having their expectations met by their current Property Management Company.

in 3  one broke even and 2 or perking along as expected. 

At our firm (tax advisory) we are offering a service to help clients with this and we expect many tax/cpa/law firms will as well. 

--------------------------------------------------------------------------------------Recommend you first figure out the property Class you want to invest in, THEN figure out the corresponding location to invest in.Property Class will typically dictate the Class of tenant you get, which greatly IMPACTS rental income stability and property maintenance/damage by tenants.If you apply Class A assumptions to a Class B or C purchase, your expectations won’t be met and it may be a financial disaster.If you buy/renovate a property in Class D area to Class A standards, what quality of tenant will you get?

In the long term  expect RE to appreciate at a rate equal or greater than CPI.  

When you go inside, you're verifying that the condition and estimated rehab costs match your expectations.

Another reason people are selling are guests and platforms (Airbnb) are becoming more demanding by expecting more from owners including refunds over the simplest things.

Anything can happen, expect the unexpected3.

Managing expectations is key. 

Are we expecting a recession?