Will you go it on your own, or would you hire a PM? 

This is one of the biggest things that people dont think about when they decide to skip hiring a GC.Become a familiar face with your local planning and zoning board/committee.

@Ricky Smith if you continue to expand, how will you hire help w/o a PMC set up?

My biggest advice - take your time, do your research, and consider hiring a mentor.Check out the Rookie Podcast and forums on BP; you'll gain a lot of valuable insights from them.Wishing you success in your investing journey!

I have a local handyman that helped me hired junk removal company and pest control for the roaches.

If you just hire the cheapest or first PMC you speak with and it turns into a bad experience, please don’t assume ALL PMC’s are bad and start trashing PMC’s in general.

Another "perfect storm of uncontrollable events".With both failed deals they are pointing blame on poor performance from the companies they hired to manage the property and to do the renovations, which raises a few questions:1) how can/should LPs perform due diligence on these to be hired companies?

(You're hiring the agent; why are they sharing stats that aren't theirs?)

Now, I hire experienced asset managers to buy, manage and eventually sell the assets.  

You can also hire a VA to do this for you.