Hi BP, I am looking to invest the OKC market long term hold real estate. 

Welcome to the wonderful world of real estate!

Anyone that is looking at your assets is always going to need to factor in property management, so you can show that as a real expense (and really make it as high or low as you want).I work in a vertically integrated real estate and development company, and I cannot imagine how things would run if we did not have an internal property management company that essentially works for the other companies but also stands on its own.

I'm a real estate agent and my wife is the operator of our senior living business.

Don’t forget to network and educate yourself through podcasts and local real estate groups.

Recommend exploring as many sources as possible to get referrals AND cross-reference them to get as much accurate information as possible.Check out NARPM.com, BP’s Property Manager Finder (BiggerPockets: The Real Estate Investing Social Network), etc.Also, encourage you to learn from the mistakes of others - by reading posts here on BiggerPockets about owners not having their expectations met by their current Property Management Company.

They equate the period leading up to the time its ready to rent as the risky part of the real estate process and pay a premium to bypass that part but this leaves them with unreasonable expectations because the real estate they purchase is inherently risky.

Getting into real estate has been a game changer for us financially and something I have grown to love. 

Pending Did you work with any real estate professionals (agents, lenders, etc.) that you'd recommend to others?

Real estate is a business and bad things are going to happen when you are going big.