I think it's fair to say that for some people, reading can essentially be another form of procrastination, just like social media and TV. 

Mine was also out of state, in a town I’d never visited, and I relied heavily on videos from my agent.This sounds like a tough first deal, but it seems like you have some capital on the side, which will be useful as you face the upcoming challenges and learn from those expensive early mistakes.Regarding the subject of this post, “help me adjust my expectations,” I’d recommend assuming that; repairs will cost twice as much as you estimate, maintenance and vacancy rates will likely double from your initial projections, there’s a very real chance you may lose money on this deal.That said, there are ways to mitigate these risks by:- Keep asking questions here on BP and connecting with local experts- Stay proactive and communicative with your agent and property manager.And remember “Inspect what you expect.”Im not trying to discourage you but to help reset your expectations.

My understanding was that since the previous landlord had it rented out, if i want to rent it it need to follow the rent control value they gave it (which was a fair number in my case). 

And 10% is rich, but fair.

-I'm fairly careful with communication , but again, I know doing business online is way riskier, but I want to ask: Typically, I would trust someone who seems very in-depth, informative (gives statistics and numbers), and basically would give me thorough steps (including worst-case scenarios and what would best fit my situation)^^would people who have experience say that even with the above, some agents/lenders/PMs would still be sort of out to get your money and do a lousy job?

It's lower than 1.5%, sometimes I price deals out conventional & DSCR, DSCR beats conventional pricing a fair amount of the time.The only catch is the prepayment penalty on a DSCR loan.

They are also very unresponsive, you'll get a lot of upfront communication while you're signing up for things and then they disappear. 

Quote from @Portia Dampier: Hi BiggerPockets community,I’m fairly new here and somewhat new to real estate investing.

@Mike Donovan in Narragansett, RI we wound up with a RI FAIR plan due to the fact we rented to students.

I've never thought of a permission to show as wholesaling, but I guess it's fairly close now that you point it out.