As an agent that works with OOS investors frequently I prefer they come into town at least during the inspection period.

We arranged closing during a slower period of time & had him leave everything (furniture, inventory, guides, etc.) literally bought it & could start taking booking the same day.

We lease a platform for online access and efficiency with both a lender and investor portal.

I am also not sure my self-management is efficient -  could a PM do better for me?

Several factors indicate the company is not that concerned about efficiency or ease of customer process: the website, a process that seemed to focus on one issue at a time instead of all issues at once, and consistently poor communications and lack of common sense from the loan analyst we were assigned.It started off very well with the initial point of contact, Austin Lornson, who did a fine job of explaining the general refinancing process, responding quickly and thoroughly to our questions.

It can take up to three days to serve, then you can file in court after the 3-day period. 

The bullet in the response that is standing out to me is:"(7) The accessory dwelling shall not be a short-term residential rental, as defined by City Code section 3-2-152(a)(2), for a period exceeding 120 days per calendar year."

This would buy time to improve cash flow or explore better refinancing options.Ask Your Lender: Would they consider lowering the rate temporarily or extending the loan period while you stabilize cash flow?

You need to minimize upfront expenses because 100% of your investment is at risk and lost if the lot is not buildable.My favorite strategy is to locate the property and tie it up for usually no more than $100 for a period of 8-12 months, analyze it myself and if I believe it to have a chance at being buildable I create a permitting plan and market the property to other investors/builders willing to take on the permitting risk.  

It generally isn't worth the brain damage of experimenting though....especially if you want to move to a new home that you will own inside of the typical lender's seasoning period.