If you can come up with an extra 1.5% and finance with a conventional loan you have none of those downsides, a lower monthly payment and PMI only until you hit 20% equity

It may sound nice to pay a 6% management fee but the extra fees can add up to be more than the other company that charges 10% with no additional fees.

With some more math, you’ll see that the extra amount in dollars is not that much compared to the total amount of interest paid.

I've tried the lower 6-7% PMs and usually you'll either pay mark ups on repairs (what you've noted) or pay extra fees (i.e. labor hours, extra calls) that you may or may not notice. 

The reality is the opposite - if it's not in writing then the PMC doesn't have to provide the service or can charge extra for it!

Personally, I bought a 3 bed single family home soon after starting my job and had two friends from college rent which covered my mortgage plus a little extra.

-A water heater issue resulted in repeated mismanagement—confusing unit assignments—leading to extra costs to fix the same issue 3 times and on each occasion "more fixes" needed to the water heaters that I plumber said was needed.

It's easy to obtain, costs very little, and doesn't require extra, on-going effort to maintain.

It's a new resource from BiggerPockets that helps you find reliable property management partnerships and gives you everything you need to make confident hiring decisions:-Expert Matching: Match with professionals who meet your criteria-Extra Assurance: See licenses, experience, ratings, reviews, and more that can be cross-checked with BiggerPockets members-Bonus Content: Plus they'll send you an interactive workbook: “How to Interview Property Management Companies”Hope this helps!

It was the best solution but it did cost extra.