You should have her carefully choose a brokerage, find a reliable mentor there, and let them represent you both and take a 25% referral fee back form them and then she can learn from a pro how to do it.

It has been a steady and reliable source of income for us. 

I’d recommend going with a broker as they usually have better interest rates, and paying attention to rates (mortgagenewdaily.com) to see if they’ve fallen since you locked your rate and you could potentially float down to a better interest rate

Lock up that property you want and then you can always refinance later when rates drop.

This locks in your monthly expenses, versus  HELOC that is variable, and matches well to the long term hold of the rental.I use HELOCs for shorter term capital needs, i.e. flips, or even possibly the acquisition and renovation of a rental, but always with the belief that I will have it paid off in under a year, typically 6 months.  

It's not the easiest way to make money, you need to stay on top of the logistics of things, and keep a good relationship with FedEx, but it's steady money, and once the route is established and you have some reliable drivers, it's good income.

They are professional and reliable and there prices are cheap. make sure to check them out

But with no experience and moving out of state you are locked in to using a PM.5.

Raise the rents $1.50/mo, or sell more locks, or do more advertising.

I use Logmein.com and email paperwork to them, take payment over the phone and have locks hidden onsite so they can buy those too!