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.

My wife and I started managing more properties for others as word of mouth recommendations started and we started to use the management and arbitrage cash flow to acquire our own properties and fund the BRRRs we were working on.  

Or hire a PM company to manage for you?

We work hard and know our reputation is everything and a little transparency never hurts any company!  

Don't use your emergency fund. 

There is one city where I rent some houses and almost everyone that calls ask who the PM is and say they won't rent from anyone that uses X company as their PM.  

The funds are insured, and you can withdraw them at any time.Real estate investing works the same way—the riskier the deal, the higher your expected return should be.Final Thought:Before making any decisions, get flood insurance quotes first.

It took some digging, working closely with a title company, and negotiating with multiple parties to get it resolved, but in the end, it was a great learning experience—and a successful deal!

the company I went with was 12k and performed high quality work.

Do yourself a favor and find an expert on your particular system -- that might not necessarily mean one of the big name companies.