The PMS around here are pretty terrible, I've worked with a lot of the larger ones in Cleveland and I think they just take on more properties than they can effectively handle and don't hire enough additional employees to make it work. 

This could work well if you’re looking for steady monthly returns and don’t mind managing tenants (or hiring a property manager).Selling could also make sense if you’d rather use the $500,000 to diversify into other investments, like buying multiple properties or even a short-term rental on the lake as you mentioned.

This could be just specific to the real estate industry, but in both recruiting and cybersecurity consultants (hackers for hire), the ones that start their own business/consultancy, are the ones who after spending 2 years (usually exactly 2 years which is when recruiters will message them), the high performer will either 1.

Find out why, see if you can learn/hire to fix that problem, and you might have found your niche.Do you know anyone or have a family member that is licensed in one of the trades? 

We got started, but they hired an appraiser and charged me $750, while typically appraisal costs around $500.

So I can hire a PM company to just do the tenant placement part? 

I agree with Miguel, build your system, then hire a virtual assistant and train them how to use it.

Make sure to do your due diligence when selecting a property management company to hire.

First, it fast-tracks your learning as an investor - you are forced to develop better time management skills, build your network of reliable contractors/ handymen, etc..Second, when you are ready to transition to a property manager, you are well equipped to evaluate and hire the right company.3.

I'm hunting them down and hiring collection attorneys in their city to take them to court for my rental fees.