Ideally the owner would handle everything and would have no need for a property management company with only this single duplex in their portfolio. 

I've worked for Superstar Car Wash, Circle K, and The Carioca Company. 

Suncoast is a very big company.  

Typically, if you have a mortgage, the mortgage company will collect taxes and insurance when you pay,  so there is not really any budgeting required for this.

A third party company that integrates with our system.

Anything beyond that is going to take some blocking and tackling (reaching out directly to local companies like solar farms, construction, medical staffing agencies, etc.).

Larger company -- tried to escalate to the owner. 

From there, I would like to consider a 1031 exchange in the future to acquire more units.My current property management company suggested that they could handle a mid sized apartment building but I would absolutely not consider them for it as I believe they have overextended themselves and communication is lacking.

And I think a lot of companies will realize that productivity is generally higher in cooler climates.

For full protection, your mortgage company will likely still require you to carry a landlord or dwelling policy.