I have kicked the tires with a few small investments in both long-term and vacation rentals offered on the website over the last few months. 

To avoid going through the same poor experience, keep reading.Even if someone gives you a referral here, do NOT make the mistake of assuming that the PMC will meet your expectations, just because they met the expectations of the referral source.In our experience, the #1 mistake owners make when selecting a Property Management Company (PMC) is ASSUMING instead of CONFIRMING.It's often a case of not doing enough research, as they don't know what they don't know!

Here's a https://www.irs.gov/businesses/cost-segregation-audit-technique-guide-chapter-4-principal-elements-of-a-quality-cost-segregation-study-and-report to the IRS website noting specific items that are included in the cost segregation study report.

#1 This website is a great reference point for figuring out what each area is like. https://www.areavibes.com/It gives you a total LIVABILITY score for each street and zip code. 

To avoid going through the same poor experience, keep reading.Even if someone gives you a referral here, do NOT make the mistake of assuming that the PMC will meet your expectations, just because they met the expectations of the referral source.In our experience, the #1 mistake owners make when selecting a Property Management Company (PMC) is ASSUMING instead of CONFIRMING.It's often a case of not doing enough research, as they don't know what they don't know!

I find market price with a combo of that website and looking at what other LL's are asking for on Facebook Marketplace.

I think the house has to be selected with Section 8 in mind.

Section 8 rents for the entire country by locality are on the HUD website, HUDuser.org look for Fair Market Rent (FMR) there. 

For anyone that hasn't used Doorvest, it's a simple website where you put a $1000 deposit and they send you curated list of houses they buy that need renovation, renovate, and then tell you a final purchase price along with guaranteeing things such as first year rent will be 100% covered by them even if they don't find tenants.

I could have hired a pro, completed the work in under 30 days, and then collected five months of rent, which would have paid for the contractor and freed up my time.I learned a lot from the experience and don't regret it, but I'm aware of my limitations and more selective about what I take on.