Screen tenants thoroughly, have a solid lease, and maintain an emergency fund for unexpected expenses.

The quality of answers to your are directly correlated to the quality of your questions asked.  

I've heard nothing but complaints from customers AND their franchise agents reegarding the quality of their 800-number service center. 

So, the first question they usually ask a PMC is about fees - instead of asking about services and HOW those services are executed.EXAMPLE: PMC states they will handle tenant screening – what does that specifically mean?

Which essentially puts some standards in place and a good guideline for handling all things in the company. ie. company mission, telephone standards, tenant screening process, etc. 

Get them out and start with leases and only rent to people that you have screened. 

The new person must complete an application and pass the screening.

Crime and Tenant Quality: With the higher crime rate in 76104, how much impact could this have on tenant retention and turnover?

It's mostly Class A properties, a few Class B.You may find the below copy & paste info useful in addressing your question:----------------------------------------------------------------------------------Recommend you first figure out the property Class you want to invest in, THEN figure out the corresponding location to invest in.Property Class will typically dictate the Class of tenant you get, which greatly IMPACTS rental income stability and property maintenance/damage by tenants.If you apply Class A assumptions to a Class B or C purchase, your expectations won’t be met and it may be a financial disaster.If you buy/renovate a property in Class D area to Class A standards, what quality of tenant will you get?

But doesn't have any property advertising, prospective tenant applications/screening, or any of that side of the business.