I have finally got them in my hands ( straight from the state of Maines website) and now realize I have no idea really what I am looking at!

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!

For example, tenant selection is crucial to minimize issues down the line, and it's essential to know fair housing and landlord-tenant laws, especially if you’re considering investing in a state like California with stringent regulations.You may want to consider starting with one property and exploring property management services if things get busy.

Do you have any advice on how to find and select a loxal group/meetup? 

You can check their website to see where they will be next.

Thank you all for your warm welcome :) Still learning to navigate the BP website.

Now we are getting started in Birmingham AL (my mom's birthplace) and are excited to branch out to select areas in the South over the next few years.I am starting off with flips, but will transition soon to rentals using a BRRR strategy.

Assuming that's what you're looking for, the above mentioned google turned up this website: https://www.charlestoncounty.org/property-info.phpIf you click on the GIS parcel viewer option, there's a search bar where you can punch in a street address.

The best way to have a reliable tenant in your property is to:Buy a property that attracts a tenant segment with a high concentration of reliable people.Work with a property manager who can consistently select reliable tenants.

For $30 they will push it out to another six websites for a month.For someone with only 1-2 rentals, you could create accounts at all these websites and manually enter your listing.