I am a licensed real estate agent as well, so I handle my own properties.

If an employee calls out sick or quits unexpectedly, you will have to step in to handle the day to day of your business.The amount of work required from you as the owner will depend largely on what services your mat offers.

Managing from out of state could be tricky, especially if you have a turn, making sure the property is ready to be marketed, doing showings, screening applicants, and then handling any maintenance/repairs. 

You could form a month to month lease with a just a days notice to vacate so you could end it as soon as you get your license ready to close, the seller might be open to it.https://www.hostaway.com/blog/rental-arbitrage-joshua-tree/Or, you could continue to list on the seller's Airbnb and you could become a full-access co-host on their account - handle all communication, pricing, etc.

Can't I let automation handle all the questions from guests?

Account Closed Thought of interning at a title company or attorney's office who ever handles it in your area? 

I’d love to hear from fellow self-managing landlords about the biggest lessons you’ve learned along the way—whether it’s handling difficult move outs, maintenance strategies, or unique ways to streamline day-to-day operations.

I also notice that @Gregory Schwartz mentioned Huntsville in particular—I definitely think that it’s a strong market for long-term appreciation.As for your concerns about investing out of state, I think an investment strategy that is as close to passive as possible would be best.A do-it-yourself approach—where you acquire a property, place a tenant, interview a bunch of property managers, and handle maintenance yourself—is going to be pretty tough to do remotely.

Here is an example: We run a fund that has a transfer agent that handles the cap table.

You mean you want someo to give you the money needed for a purchase and you'll handle the rest?