The main issue is a consistent lack of effective management and oversight.

IMO it is necessary in competitive markets. 

While it appears many rookie investors tend to struggle to hit the ground running due to lack of capital / financing, I have the opposite problem.

I looked at local companies, and while many locals have great boots on the ground, they lack the economies of scale and systems like what Avantstay uses to attract, vet, monitor, and enforce. 

@Deirdre Lizio see a lot of competiting PMCs start with a pledge of doing it better than "what's out there".Always interesting to revisit them 3-5 years later - after they've experienced the reality of challenging tenants AND owners.Look no further than Evernest: they started out with flat fee management at $99/month and promises of better & fairer service & pricing.Now they're at 10%, capped at $199/month - wonder what changed?

Box sills, windows, doors, outlets, switches, lack of house wrap under siding etc.. 

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 lacks a grounding conductor.

I also think most markets won't see anywhere close 6% cap rates (for single family homes which is what I personally invest in).The questions you get to ask are then:Is the extra 4% worth the hassle of management and lack of liquidity.   

Some towns require a nightly online form to be filled out for any non-residents who are parking their cars (this is easily automated from an operational standpoint).As the MTR market becomes saturated over time, those who have separated themselves from the rest of the "competition" will continue to perform well by having an outstanding listing and all the MTR-specific amenities.