I'm curious as to whether others have walked this mile and whether you have any suggestions on how I can accomplish this. 

First off I took the realtors suggestion and listed with the property management company he promoted to me.

Being out of state, I would suggest vetting your "team", meaning find an investor realtor, lender/s (hard $ / long term), property manager, contractors, etc.

I don't use Stessa and never have so I don't know what's going on, but I suggested they take a look at Baselane, which is what I use.

Any suggestions on what to update/populate in our "rules" section to help us make this clearer? 

many houses in the midwest, for example, are very old and need major rehabs.i personally think out of state investing is more difficult than advertised, and much more difficult in the current investing environment, with: prices high; interest rates high; tremendous demand for inventory, by both investors and retail buyers; and good PMs, contractors, etc. booked up.here's a really thoughtful thread with the experience of another CA investor and lots of different responses:https://www.biggerpockets.com/forums/12/topics/1215726-break...and here are some threads about how it can very easily go wrong:https://www.biggerpockets.com/forums/48/topics/1159104-overl...https://www.biggerpockets.com/forums/963/topics/1195280-expe...https://www.biggerpockets.com/forums/48/topics/1160450-run-i...https://www.biggerpockets.com/forums/48/topics/1137397-balti...finally, you also said you "don't have a lot of money to start with." 

They might have suggestions or updates that could help with this specific issue.

I have been thinking small office or retail (which I have experience in); larger multi family (10-20 unit), RV Storage, and have even thought about beach front hotel, or at least ocean view hotel.

From there, I would like to consider a 1031 exchange in the future to acquire more units.My current property management company suggested that they could handle a mid sized apartment building but I would absolutely not consider them for it as I believe they have overextended themselves and communication is lacking.

But if your budget is tight or your home only needs minor updates, your real estate agent can help you think outside of the box by suggesting simple DIY staging tips to help your home look its best.Bottom LineStaging your house properly can make it much more attractive to buyers, but it’s not a one-size-fits-all solution, and every home shines differently.