-- sort of depends where you live and if you want to invest out of state / have the ability to manage a team remotely, the best out of state investors are very active in managing their teams.

So again, please don’t take anything that I wrote as some sort of dig or discrediting.

Unless you have some sort of subject matter expertise or access to an unfair advantage (cheap labor, ways to source off market deals, etc.), index funds are likely to provide an equal or better return with a MUCH lower hassle factor and more liquidity.

So far, it’s almost going a little too smoothly and we sort of feel like we’re just waiting for the fall.

I would guess that you have little or no experience running any kind of STR, and now want to get that experience on the back of someone else's investment, with little or no personal skin in the game, and that's not a good way to build an investment portfolio.

Every great business that has ever existed had a Visionary/Integrator relationship of some sort.

-I'm fairly careful with communication , but again, I know doing business online is way riskier, but I want to ask: Typically, I would trust someone who seems very in-depth, informative (gives statistics and numbers), and basically would give me thorough steps (including worst-case scenarios and what would best fit my situation)^^would people who have experience say that even with the above, some agents/lenders/PMs would still be sort of out to get your money and do a lousy job?

I don't know your skin thickness but know I do it with love and care for your improvement, there is no insult meant by any of it but fact is we all gotta suck, learn and try again before we get great, right. 

That way you’ve got some skin in the game, and the tenants will be less likely to protest that the other tenants are using more electricity or gas.

Indianapolis (where I'm a realtor and work with all sorts of investors) is a great market to find that and get a mix of solid appreciation too if you know where to buy