I do arbitrages globally so this helps me build the capital to stay ready to buy.

If the numbers work I would place less emphasis on the appraised value.

(In line emphasis my own, for easier reading only.)

Property managers and real estate agents should (big emphasis on SHOULD) have referrals for other positions you'll need such as real estate attorneys, insurance agents, contractors, etc.While those two might be the most important to make long distance investing work, finding quality contractors will probably be the most challenging.

Of all the locations globally you could be investing in how did you land on Oakland, Macomb and Wayne?

They clearly don't put a large emphasis on that aspect, perhaps because it's currently free, but be sure to consider that aspect before you move everything over there and/or consider the long term idea of scaling up.

PM-specific apps will tend to have less emphasis on granular accounting, but personally this hasn't been a problem for me; I want to keep track of more than just finances, especially when there are partners involved.

I have 15 years of architecture experience and currently work for a large global architecture firm so I am not afraid of construction, contractors, project management, etc.  

Once the new guy starts, they were going to team up other prominent PM companies in the county to really emphasis the importance of speedy evictions to the new sheriff. 

I served for over 20 years in the Air Force working as a network engineer and communications officer and now serve in the Army National Guard as a signal officer, with emphasis on network security.