Ultimately, clear communication and expectations handled in a respectful manner can avert any issue.

Do you want cheap, regardless of speed and communication? 

House hacking is the best tried-and-true method for new investors in my opinion.

Here is how we usually handle situations like this: if a tenant communicates with us, we usually try to work something out with the tenant. 

However, we are taking over from a PM to self-manage and are inheriting the current setup.Our biggest concern is that this first communication from the tenant was a sob story asking for $500 back/off rent.

Find Brandon's videos on YouTube for the "four square" method of analyzing homes and practice.

I’ve also learned the hard way that good communication with your team and third parties is just as important as organization.

@Sonja RevellsThey usually communicate to the seller there are liens and their proceeds would be less because of the payoffs.

So I would suggest keeping your STR property geographically close and doing as much as possible to keep your profit% high as possible.As far as the actual house you use, I would just say - be honest, be fair and strive for the best area, most amenities, cleanest house, best communication, and any other extras you can get.

Hours spent watching podcasts and communicating on BP do not count.