There is no general rule of thumb but you can expect it to be in the range you have listed above.

Continually communicate clearly with all parties involved to make sure that expectations are as close to realistic timelines as possible.

I informed them that their contract states they are expected to pay up until the end of the agreement regardless of living their or not. 

The link in the education course is broken. 

Also know that building a home seldom goes as expected - I have relatives that just built a nicer house… they thought it would take 9 months… it literally took 18-24 months between delays in permitting and the builder just not being able to get it done in a timely manner - often due to sub-contractor issues.  

Both sets of beams have to be broken for the alarm to go off. 

@Stacey OlsonRecommend exploring as many sources as possible to get referrals AND cross-reference them to get as much accurate information as possible.Check out NARPM.com, BP’s Property Manager Finder (BiggerPockets: The Real Estate Investing Social Network), etc.Also, encourage you to learn from the mistakes of others - by reading posts here on BiggerPockets about owners not having their expectations met by their current Property Management Company.

@Joe Villeneuve @Theresa Harris, thanks a lot for taking the time and provide some info/ideas/suggestionsTo give you some color for these properties, there is a 15 years-plan that my wife and I are planning to have arround 5 to 7 properties in the same $$$ range (-+ $200K) that we can rent them around $1600-$1800I believe after 10 yrs, I am expecting to a better cash flow considering some loans will be paid in full, but maybe the next properties will have as you suggest 30 year-loan. 

Speaking of which.. what’s your plan if the property needs more updates than expected..would you hold it longer, or look for other creative ways to make it work? 

Buying in a high COLA with loss protection is a no-brainer in my book, but only if you expect to relo again.