It is important that you hire professionals who have experience working with foreign investors.

My attorney said he needed to hire us as investigators in locating people.

In a way, its not their fault, its just they have become so in demand and they cant hire fast enough to keep up, so the only way to keep growing is via price. 

Nothing like word of mouth referrals.Either way you definitely want a way to check/verify their work before hiring them.

The only difference from your question is that I was a REP.  

After years of self-managing our single-family rentals, we decided to hire a property manager to provide full service management.

If that's the case look into finding a handyman, and make sure to shop around for the best price.Stuff I have ran into:lost keys/lockpicking [hired]broken washer [fixed myself]shower door [fixed myself]AC clogged [hired]Microwave broken [replaced myself]holes in the wall [fixed myself] Thank you!

@Cameron Porter half off of a $30-40K price may not be enough to make a purchase work.We've seen clients quickly get upside down with Land Bank purchases:(So, proceed with caution and hire a great inspector and contractor to go thru the property before you agree to buy it.

I am currently living out of state so I have hired a property management company to handle this task, however, my home is still sitting vacant with very few prospective tenants.

A few years later, I hired a local Wyoming attorney to create a living trust.