The monthly fee of X% should cover most regular things (collecting rent, answering calls, dealing with the occasional repair request which might happen once or twice a year depending on the tenant). 

In FL (and everywhere), as regular investments, not live in, I like 2-bedroom homes.

If your PM is not communicating with you on a regular basis about the status of the property's activity and also not responding to your inquiries in a timely manner, that's a problem.

Who will drive by regularly and check for unauthorized renters, weeds in the driveway, trash piled up, a tenant taking up five parking spaces, or other issues?

You can pay for it with FHA loans or regular loans.

Again, the BiggerPockets store has some books for this or you can learn by watching podcasts, reading blogs, and interacting on the forum.

I regularly listen to the bigger pockets rookie podcast.

We strive to provide transparency and value at Partner Driven.Free Open House MeetingsWe offer plenty of free “open house” meetings where you can interact with both current partners and those considering joining.

As I got to know more investors, I learned many of them were regular people that worked hard, saved up, and invested.

The CMA is right on the sale price - My payments to the seller includes a 25 year amoritization rate, so my monthly "mortgage" to the seller(300k with interest) is greater than their current mortgage. (200k with the same interest rate)- Going the regular financing route (25% down) is not desirable since I would need to dip into my primary residence HELOC for the downpayment.