Our company flips homes in Laguna Beach, and we operate student rentals (currently in New Orleans, but planning to expand).

The entire reason I hired a company is they are the experts and I expect them to take full accountability of making sure I am in the know and 100% compliant.

(It's funny now) I hired a property management company and sure enough they told me the best qualified renter was the one who wanted to do a 9 month lease and pay it all upfront.

------------------------------------------------------------------------------------Recommend exploring as many sources as possible to get referrals AND cross-reference them to get as much accurate information as possible.Check out NARPM.com, BP’s Property Manager Finder (BiggerPockets: The Real Estate Investing Social Network), etc.Also, encourage you to learn from the mistakes of others - by reading posts here on BiggerPockets about owners not having their expectations met by their current Property Management Company.

I'm building my portfolio of SFRs in Houston area, and thought I had signed up with the best property management company in town.  

Most serious and qualified tenants are searching on the major 3rd party platforms you mentioned + realtor.com, redfin, and a few others.Apartments.com & homes.com are owned by the same company and may offer some additional marketing options.Another strategy to consider here is social media - video marketing.

I have a great 1031 company I work with that has a lot of education and information if you want me to send it over. 

I spoke to my title company yesterday and apparently they will no longer do double closings.

He's a partner in an STR management company and is very active in that sector right now in the Charleston area. 

Less of a supercharge and more or less fake news...