More importantly, they know how to prevent problems in the first place.Remember: cheaper doesn't mean you'll make more money.Start by going to www.narpm.org to search their directory of managers.

The roof needed to be repaired, which added another $10,000 to the cost, but doing that allowed the insurance to be cheaper and ensures that the rood is good for another decade.

I'm not sure if the PICTURES of mold in the basement were manipulation to get the property cheaper.

And yes, there are other states that are more landlord friendly and may offer cheaper prices and taxes.

The 5 cap property has higher demand and the 10 cap property that you say should be more profitable has LESS demand.Please explain.Sure, maybe the cheaper property is in a location where people don't expect appreciation(appreciation has nothing to do with CAP rate) an in the area with higher appreciation, people are willing to make less, counting on appreciation to bail them out.Maybe the lower priced property is purchased off market.Maybe the lower priced property has an distressed owner that needs to move the property immediately.Maybe, someone is just an idiot and their property is priced over market value.Or maybe, just maybe we have the ability to invest in different markets! 

Is your insurance therefore so much cheaper?

Then I work the magic with the numbers and in many cases like now, I have 2 different companies that I have insured my portfolio because for some houses, the one that was cheaper for some of the properties when 3x to a SFH so I moved that one to another company.Insurance nowadays are not small money so it makes a difference to get a cheaper one so that you can get a better cashflow.You don't need to sit with them, but call them and you may need to spend an hour or so to get you setup with them.

I realize it could be fraught with peril but it would be cheaper than a property manager and easier to find. 

It's a bit cheaper and less busy.

Quote from @Bubba McCants: Thank you so much, sounds like we need to look into AppFolio.For a smaller portfolio, Buildium may be a better/cheaper solution.