Late payments, property damage, and evictions are avoidable when you have a PM who knows how to find reliable renters.I encourage you to seek out a property management company that emphasizes tenant screening and uses modern tools for verification.

This idea of diversification is a very tricky philosophy to me. 

Also, thanks @Scott Trench for your sticky post in the new members forum; I was intimidated about posting here, but your post encouraged me to do it (and tag you)! 

At that time, my friend encouraged me to get into real estate with the idea of creating passive income and wealth in future (via appreciation).

There currently appears to be a flow of investors still buying and renovating properties in this area, which seems encouraging.

Thanks for the encouragement! 

We do encourage doing your own due diligence even though we are providing all this info.

Best,Rebeccaps - @Scott Trench - thanks for encouraging newbies like me to introduce ourselves on this forum! 

This can encourage positive word-of-mouth and build goodwill if they’re ever a reference for your property.Ultimately, focus on fairness and clear documentation.

@Shane AvidonRecommend 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.