I’m sure others here are also running into this issue, so any recommendations and referrals would be greatly appreciated!

This may be because (1) until recently interest rates were trending lower so if the lender is getting a higher rate on subject note than he can obtain on new note there’s no monetary incentive to call the note (2) in the past technology did not exist to identify the property transfers (ten years ago county recording docs were not online) and (3) the lenders rather collect payments than own property.  

I highly recommend managing it remotely if possible.

I highly recommend them.

BiggerPockets also has a calculator to analyze deals, and I highly recommend you start this as soon as possible, even if you are not ready to buy.

I recommend that you contact a lawyer to setup this process for you.  

Additionally, not all transaction types support Locations, meaning you'll have to create journal entries to correct them—requiring a solid understanding of debits and credits, which can be time-consuming and error-prone.Instead, I recommend biting the bullet and upgrading to QuickBooks Online Plus for each entity.

Ask them if they'd mind sharing their experience with you.. if they'd recommend the area or not, and lastly if they could maybe send you a P/L sheet to see their income, expenses etc.You might run into some hosts that aren't responsive or any help, but it just takes a few people to share insight to get a good idea of the market you're dealing with.

I'd recommend attending investor meet ups.

Nathan above gave some good software recommendations, any of which would probably work well.