However, I’ve witnessed cases where the investor went “all in”, spending and losing many millions.  

Most contractors here in California will charge their hourly rate and possibly ad on a smaller charge if they need an assistant.  

I’m based out of state so would be looking for a company that could assist with day-to-day issues as well as securing tenants.

I was running an sms campaign through an overseas assistant, but I've been researching AI sms marketing platforms that actually handle conversations from beginning to end, qualifying and disqualifying leads. 

You’re going to spend hundreds replacing the fridge and then spend hundreds per year on bottled/filtered water instead of paying a plumber a couple hundred once?

Of course, managing your own properties is a good thing (instead of having to spend the money on a manager), but you have to manage your property in a professional manner.

The five people you spend the most time with will influence you.

While it will likely give you more confidence and answer a lot of questions, I would say that talking to a seasoned investor, or even agent that works with investors, is a way better idea than spending 8K on something that you don't know too much about, especially before your first deal is done.

When he became the first relief pitcher in MLB to sign a $100k contract and asked what he was going to do with all that money (this was 1968) he said “ 90% I’m going to spend on wild women, Irish whiskey and good times; the other 10% I’m just going to throw away”.  

Many voucher holders also work and so sometimes they will have a higher amount to spend than someone who doesn’t work because they can pay up to a % of their net income from the HA’s calculations, often 30-40%.