For late payments, always stay in control.

And, they limit the type of people. 

You’ll also find out when you talk to previous landlords.My policy is to never rent to a tenant with an eviction on their record, though some landlords put a time limit on it such as “no evictions in the past five years.”

There are limited number of companies and equipment. 

That is something that is growing due to the limitations of STR.MTR is something that will help you but you will have to be a bit flexible in the times that you are planning to come in.Management is cheaper than STR, but you have to consider other factors such as close to places where those MTR are in need.

I was surprised to learn that even they, with all of their resources,  maintain a limited rolodex of GC's to whom they turn for repair work.

It's probably the best way to get started and learn what it's like to own properties while gaining equity and limiting your living expenses.

Consider the family who’ll eventually live there..maybe they’ll appreciate a second-floor deck accessible from a common hallway, where everyone can enjoy it, rather than limiting it to a single bedroom.

For example North Carolina is $40,000 or less, Texas there is no limit, and so on.

The properties are limited to certain areas of the cities.