As a few others have shared, having a strategic plan in place before visiting properties is crucial to your future success.

Maximizing profits when selling an investment property involves strategic planning and execution.

You want an accountant who can help you strategize and who is responsive when you want to know the tax consequences of the decisions you are making throughout the year.Good luck in your search.

How can these cost-estimation principles be leveraged to create a more robust financial model for long-term rental property investments, considering factors like ongoing maintenance, capital expenditures, and market fluctuations over time?

Hello, BiggerPockets community,
I'm reaching out to gather your insights on the most prudent investment strategy given the current market conditions. With $20k in savings and an additional $4k monthly saving rate, I'...

If your PM is out renting your unit or cordianting turn over or make ready they need to be given some time to respond.. and most now have pretty robust on line systems that owners can just pop on line and see expenses etc.. and probably notes that PM leaves in the system. 

There may be other options there.But, from a strategic angle, that is where a random guy on the internet jumps in and says "You might be able to buy the property from your mother on a Lease Option" that you make the payments and maintain the house with the option expiring on her passing date, converting back to her estate which you and any other heirs will inherit".

However, house hacking is still possible, although it may require some creativity and strategic planning.

Here area a few other methods that are slower, but still viable for strategically using your primary residence. 

Unfortunately, like most things, if your first foray into anything new goes poorly, you are likely to label everything about that thing as bad.But back to your REIT comments: while I do acknowledge both the strengths (generally more robust companies, highly liquid, lower risk investments and overall structure), there are some trade-offs.