Planning to go back to the same company in downtown Dallas? 

Look for off-market deals, seller financing opportunities, or even house hacking a small multi-family with an FHA loan (3.5% down) if you plan to live in one unit.For creative financing, explore seller financing, subject-to deals, and lease options.

if she had contacted me, I would have shown her what was planned to finish and discussed the financials. 

If your experience has gone downhill since the merger, it may be worth switching to a more proactive manager—even if there's a cost involved.Before making the move, ask the new PM how they plan to improve visibility and fill your vacancy quickly.

Plan for the unexpected3.

It highlighted the importance of strategic planning in quick-flip scenarios.

With a bit of planning and good operations, one can easily manage 20 to 30 properties without an assistant, with less than a day or two a month.There's lots of automated ways to check on rent, make deposits (my tenants deposit directly into a bank account), receive maintenance requests, have maintenance done, etc., etc.One thing I could argue is to have your tenants ONLY email you, especially for maintenance requests, and that email goes directly to the vendor that you have set up to handle it.

Earlier in your post you shared that your friend planned to pay the contractor invoice but at the end of your post you ask whether your friend should pay the invoice in full.....and this is after selling the property and presumably being recapitalized. 

, clear laminated instructions inside the unit, etc.Also very important to consider scale--if you are planning to have several STR's in the same area, then it's wise for you to invest time now to build your team there and manage the place without a co-host.

I bought my first property a few years ago, but life (and COVID) put my real estate plans on hold.