That agent lives in the neighborhood and everything too, which was on my preferred list of attributes so the day to day can be more closely monitored.

Monitored local listings and worked with agent to negotiate.

This is one the ways to monitor that.

One can certainly minimize that expected cost by properly screening, having local eyes on the ground, monitoring etc.  

I monitor rents in the area based off online reference and compare to the zillow and rentometer estimates.

Mine are in a third world country so for $4/hr they’ll set door codes, message (or call) guests, schedule cleaners, adjust the thermostat, monitor my cameras, call a plumber, etc.I too often spend around $99/mon per property but I can’t imagine you’d get the same level of quality & service that I do for that $99/mon price domestically

Remote Device that monitors Noise Levels within the STR Unit and sends automated messages to Guests when Noise Levels exceed a certain threshold.

Leaving space to monitor water intrusion means you have failed to remedy the issue.

There's usually some good locals monitoring those and I think you'll get some good responses in the Kentucky forum for specific recommendations. 

An area that you are familiar with, that you can monitor for changes, and that you can easily, quickly and economically work on.