The below is a good start: - Company Specifics (how many properties do they manage, what type of properties do they manage, how many property managers are employed, how many years have they been in operation, are they licensed)- Pricing (what is the cost to manage the unit, what is the cost, if any, to lease the unit, is there an onboarding fee, is there an early termination cost, are there ad-hoc costs for maintenance, tenant screening, or miscellaneous costs - such as to appear in court if you have an eviction)- Service offerings (do they conduct unit inspections, do they provide cleaning services, do they offer an owner portal to submit requests, do they offer a tenant portal to submit requests)- Financial Services (do they pay bills to vendors on your behalf, do they manage insurance procurement, do they provide you with rent roll, income statement, P&L, general ledger info, do they prepare annual 1099s for vendors, do they manage tax preparation process, do they allow tenants to pay rent online)- Tenant screening process (how do they vet tenants, do they take marketing photos, do they screen tenants, do they handle lease preparation, do they help register new tenants, do they conduct credit/background/reference checks, etc.) 

Get them on your lease (with a security deposit that the seller procures for you and conveys to you at closing) as soon as possible, so you know what their lease says.With such a close-to-market rent in this uncertain time, I wouldn't raise rents until you for sure want them out.Have a walk through of their apartment and note any damages.

-Hotel Design & Architecture Groups - handle design, architecture,  PIP review, ADA compliance, potentially procurement.  

If you found the property on the MLS as an expired, the listing agent will have a "protected" period, could be 6 months, where the agent will be due a commission if their efforts were the procuring cause of a sale, that means if you found the property, or it can be reasonably established that someone could have found the property due to their advertising efforts, like a listing, they may be entitled to a commission.Besides that, this is not a deal to chase, IMO. :)

As you work deals together you'll get educated and the investor won't have to risk money to procure the leads.

If you were able to procure financing that allowed you to buy 10 identical homes to the hypothetical one described in this scenario, each with just $10,000 on the table, you would have ultimately spent the same $100,000 described in scenario #1 at the end of the year.  

If you are procuring a loan you will need to work through your lender's process. 

Approaching the seller during the listing period would be unethical, appoaching them after it expires means they are no longer represented and as Seth points out that becomes an issue for the seller if they attempt to sell without paying a commission during the "protected period".Commissions are due an agent as the"procuring cause" of a sale during a period agreed after the listing expires.

Bottom line, which I think we're all in violent agreement about :) ... materials procurement is a complicated game of strategy and the "right" answer varies from job to job, material to material, business to business, and town to town.

In respect to your financing, that really depends on the properties you find and the deals you are able to procure.