I tried a few different PMs when I was employed but was never happy with any of them; knew I couldn't do any worse...

A broker can do your shopping and they typically look out for their clients (you) An agent is looking out for his employer (not you) Make sure to read the fine print on your policy.

Second look at the expenses and see if there were any (or not) major updates to the property such as roofs, pipes, electrical panels, tree trimming, sewer laterals, or paving. 

I brought my friend along and he devised a few strategies to employ with the property.

As a self-employed 1099 individual, your best route is most likely DSCR.

Actually more becuase now you are self-employed and have all of those pesky overhead costs. 

Know the strategy that you will employ and the numbers it takes to make a worthwhile return.  

Sometimes large employers will rent furnished apartments for their employees coming to town on a regular basis.Also, if you believe strongly in the appreciation of the house, how bad would the negative cash flow be if you did long term rental? 

Clean, friendly, activity rich and lots of employment driving growth as far as I found. 

Generally your hours working at BP as a W-2 employee would not be part of RE professional hours unfortunately.For those who are RE professionals, gain on sale of rental real estate is still capital gains and still avoids self employment taxes just the same for those tho are not REPS so there is no downside to being a REP in the example you provided Scott.