They help monitor your progress and answer calls and texts swiftly. 

One thing I did note is my insurance is $3K a year lower due to the monitored fire suppression system in these larger properties versus my smaller properties that sleep 12 or less built close to the same time.As someone who has lived in Illinois twice, the politicians there don't care if people burn as long as they can tax and spend. 

The main use of the extra revenue is capital improvements; new roof, furnace, monitored fire alarm system, etc. 

Unless you monitor regulations full-time, staying compliant is nearly impossible—and a single mistake can cost more than years of property management fees.Properties don't pay rent—tenants do.

You probably already know in your heart which direction you want to go and may be looking for some justification. 

To overcome these, investors should focus on smaller properties, value-add opportunities, expand into secondary markets, leverage creative financing, partner for scale, monitor development trends, network aggressively, and use market data tools for tailored advice.

Does anyone have a similar experience of living in the heart of a city but choosing to mostly invest in the urban sprawl outside?

You will have a heart attack when you get your first inspection report. 

Monitor and change when the house is vacant is the blessing.

It's definitely worth investigating.Yes, you can install motion-sensor cameras to monitor vacant rentals, but they require some paid service to monitor remotely (wifi, hotspot, etc.)