They might be fine managing new construction, but I have seem MANY investors almost tank from their fee schedule on managing older homes...i would compare it to almost predatory practice.

I don't know exactly but some kind of % would be fine.

to your point, if you save up so that you're in a strong financial position, house hack a solid duplex in a decent neighborhood, make smart decisions, and hold it indefinitely, you'll be fine.conversely, if you have $0 and somehow start out with a risky flip, or borrow $20K and spend it all on a magic mentoring program, or buy a terrible property in a neighborhood you've never been to, you may not be fine.

In this case S8 is probably not a good option.If you are convinced you can find a great family that will take care of your property, then either option is fine for you. 

Living in the same property as your tenants is fine.

If you're trying to save money or learn by self managing that is fine... but then you have to deal with this type of thing.

ES works fine though.

If you're local you can probably do fine on your own.

So far it sounds like we will just need to verify via a CPA, which is fine, if that is what we need to do.  

It's worked out fine.