Understand the fees involved and calculate the total cost for an entire year of management so you can compare the different managers.

Some of the newer ones seem to take forever (45-60 min) to run compared to the older ones.

Quote from @Holly Barrett: So I'm comparing them w/Foremost on our Short Term Rentals, the quotes are $500-$1000 less than I am currently paying for each property per year.

Use AirDNA to get a better feel for what may be projected and then dive into Airbnb and compare to your competitors. 

The more you understand the local market, the more value you can bring to a mentor.Stay persistent and consistent.

How do I compare that to a comp that has 1840 SF on the main floor and 460 SF of finished basement space (and 1200 SF of unfinished space)?

Focus on one strategy, practice analyzing deals, and take consistent small steps like attending events and building relationships.

When I ran the numbers compared to US real estate, the added leverage potential here meant that it was not worth the additional hassle to continue investigating Dubai. 

I was told that they will make the complete rent payment in mid January which I think it will be a lot for them to pay at once, since they have defaulted in the rent consistently for 3 months now. 

Then it has an expense tracker to compare budgets to actuals during project execution.