They generally have large portfolios allowing for in house maintenance and management staff along with a point person who is communicating with the local housing authority on a regular basis and has the ability to streamline operations. 

If any portion of the building or structure is occupied by the taxpayer, the gross rental income from the property must includes the fair rental value of the unit occupied by the taxpayer.IRC 168(e) defines a dwelling unit as “a house or apartment used to provide living accommodations.

The most important thing to keep in mind is that fast, quality maintenance and good communication are by far the best forms of customer service a property manager can provide.

I am not a plumber, but I have had my fair share of this, and most of the time, you can hire a plumber to snake & jet the line.

The real estate agent I was assigned passed me off to someone else without explanation, and the general contractor stopped communicating with me once I had my first deal under contract.

We currently use an insurance broker that covers while in rehab and then adds loss of rents later once applicable, but communication is difficult when there is a broker involved.

I include written instructions for payment, reporting maintenance, and how the tenant can communicate with me.

Let's say, 10% on average. 25% x (1-.1)= 22.5% average STR fee.Average those two, and you get a little less than 18%, so 15% seems like a "fair" fee

But you can manage remotely fairly easy

Communicate w/ your PM, the City and follow up until it's resolved quickly.