I don't know whether to attribute it to more flipping competition or guys willing to work for less. 

Amazon's success can be attributed to the endless pursuit of lower prices, which goes hand in hand with keeping the costs of doing business low.

Also, repairs do not have to recapture when you sell the house too.Regarding selling your house:Since the rental space was physically part of the living area of your home, such as a spare room used as rental room, the rental usage doesn’t affect your gain/loss calculations and will qualify for the full exclusion given you meet all other requirements for capital gain exclusion under Section 121.However, gain attributable to depreciation claimed cannot be sheltered with this gain exclusion.

In New York, this is actually largely attributable to Rent Control Laws.  

Is anyone using a property management company in this area that has the aforementioned character attributes?

@Eric Peterson if you qualify for the principal residence exception, which has been referenced (2 out of 5 years) you will still be required to recapture any gain attributable to depreciation taken on the property during the period it was rented. 

I am hoping to receive guidance, criticisms, networking and hopefully leads.I have technical experience, capital and commitment to offer - but would like to expand upon these attributes and connect with someone who has actually done some thing in this space.

This allows them to cross-match records from credit and criminal to reduce false-positive criminal hits on applicants (compared to a service that uses Experian, for example, that does not provide criminal records).Much easier to accurately get a criminal record for "John Smith" when you can cross reference attributes from their criminal and credit files.  

Whatever gain is attributed to that portion you can take the first $250K ($500K if married) in profit tax free.  

I love how you attribute your success to to a team and the great people you work with.