HI Melissa-  I would recommend you contact a few property managers in Bluffton SC to get some recommendation. 

I recommend to everyone. 

@Kris TohovitisI wouldn't recommend using your cash to pay off the mortgage on your primary residence since you can likely get a better return on that money by investing it.What's your buying criteria for the multi-family property?

Hey @Kyle Knudsen, I recommend giving @Whitney Nash a call.

If so, can anyone recommend any best practices?

How to patch Did you work with any real estate professionals (agents, lenders, etc.) that you'd recommend to others?

i have seen that quadplex on the market for a while and yea it is definitely more than i would like to tackle right now but i think i could possibly make that SF work thank you for the recommendations  @Anthony Benoit For what it's worth, I'd estimate you'd need to negotiate the purchase price on that SF down a bit to make the numbers work in that area (BRRR or F/F).

Tried other things but can't make anything better since it gives me space, allows me to prioritize and delegate, and is practically free.

Others recommend tools like Stessa or Buildium to track actual costs and project future expenses. 

In other words, all the other MTR hosts are dealing with the same expense.To control this expense, I always recommend an utility cap where tenants are charged for any usage over an established dollar amount.