Hi Charles,I too am looking for a contractor but so far have not found one that seems experienced and trustworthy.

The name of my guy is Joseph Kabbani...Other possiblities might be City Management or Inner City Property Management...one thing about Joseph, is that he works 7 days a week...maybe 60-70 hours a week...he just has a hard time delegating to his employees....and he's trustworthy...just too busy. 

Do most investors manage their rental themselves or are there reliable, trustworthy property managers?

The most important criteria for successful LP investors is investing with trustworthy, experienced sponsors who have your best interests in mind. 

Once the turnkey company reaches a certain size and have enough customers and "reviews" they will give a little less ROI, but you are getting their tried and true systems and knowledge that they will most likely be around for a while and be pretty trustworthy.

It's not foolproof but that will certainly reduce your chances of working with someone that's not trustworthy. 

Familiarity does not mean trustworthy, nor competent.

I agree having a reliable, trustworthy team on board when you are long distance investing is crucial and what better way to ensure that than to engage with people that have insight into your market of interest. 

If the strategies require skillsets you do not currently have, you will need to learn those skills or build a trustworthy team to fill those roles. 

My team and I have had a tremendous amount of success in Detroit and if you have a trustworthy team in place, it could be a great market to build a portfolio in.