@Stacey OlsonRecommend 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.

You'll make a lot of mistakes which will train you what to look for in a PM. 

But letting minor issues slide was my biggest mistake.

No mistakes have been made here.

make no mistake

They aren't perfect and do occasionally make errors, but I've always been satisfied with their attitude and the way they fixed their mistakes. 

A community isn't a gimmick, it's an opportunity for the right people to level up quicker than they would on their own and avoid the mistakes others in the community had to learn the hard way.

So, they make honest mistakes that can still cost you thousands of dollars.- If you try to hire contractor directly, you have about a 90%+ chance of getting taken advantage of.

You can hear real-world examples of how others have built their investment portfolio and (hopefully) learn to avoid their mistakes.4.

That pace feels pretty good to me...I can get past the "rookie mistake" phase of my career before there is investor money on the line, and I can "fail small" because SFRs and small multifamily doesn't hurt as much as larger properties when things go wrong.Timing had a role, too.