Personally I prefer homes around that median price because that's where the most demand will be not only for owner occupants but renters as well.

The other PM can be a fix-mindset type of person where they are not willing to share anything unless you have a property and are willing to sign a PM agreement in the same conversation. 

Personally I would want to manage the rental myself at least in the beginning to make sure you get good ratings.

Better option for personal use but perhaps not rental. 

The biggest mistake I see out of state investors make is relying on others too much for direction and guidance instead of doing their own due diligence and building their own team that they actually meet and interviewRelying on one person who alleges that they have a 'team' built already that you can use as well can be a costly mistake.

What I personally do is link the working entities with my holding which is also based in Spain.

Lenders often include a portion of the cash flow in the investment property as income to you personally to offset the DTI. 

For me personally, our STR and our little inn provide more than half my family's income so I feel I have a fiduciary duty to my wife and kids to maximize that. 

Awesome to see a new investor-minded person here.. do you have a favorite real estate success story already?

In theory, you could QT the property to an LLC in your name and enter into a lease with you personally.