So far overall my experience with rentredi has been really good (I found them through the BP ads) and I can recommend but I do still get contacted by my tenants for their maintenance requests which is the main drawback of not having a full property manager in my eyes. 

Usually these fall into 2 groups:   Additional protected classes,  mainly source of income,   and inspection/registration requirements.  

I'm 24 and have been in the industry for a bit, mainly focusing on the Indianapolis market, particularly with new build duplexes that offer solid cash flow and low maintenance costs.To answer some of your questions:Finding Deals: Platforms like BiggerPockets, Zillow, Redfin, and LoopNet are great starting points for finding deals online.

In your personal strategy are you still renting out the main floor rooms in a house hacking strategy?

If I read your post correctly, there is a main meter that is read and a submeter that measures what goes to the second unit.

Our main hesitation is simply that we feel that pets will cause additional damage, odors, etc..If we were to consider this, what are you currently charging for fees, either one-time or additional monthly fee(s)?

Story allows for manual expense tracking towards the bottom of the main dashboard.

I am building a vertical addition above the existing main level which would have vaulted ceilings OR alternatively the front half would be vaulted and rear where the bath/closet is situated would have flat ceilings with rooftop deck above.    

As you mentioned, the main drawback is the inability to continue 1031 exchanges after converting to a REIT.

If you are looking at 1-4 Units, Conventional, DSCR, and Private Money are the main types of financing.