It depends on who you're hiring but that seems fairly standard.  

Granted there is a cost in hiring an agent, Having someone analyze each deal with localized knowledge is worth its weight in gold.

If managing it yourself feels unsustainable in the long run, hiring a good property manager could give you more peace of mind.Since a 1031 exchange or like-kind replacement doesn’t seem to be a good fit for your current situation, you could consider a HELOC if you need to tap into the equity for other investments without selling the property, although rates are high so this would eat up your cash flow.

But when people are out of town / out of state the title company can hire a mobile notary near you and they will fedex the documents to your local area to sign.  

Simply fire them and hire someone else.

I have done it successfully on my last 2 buildouts, maybe 3, but only because I was able to acquire the properties at a very low price and I did all the work in-house (myself and some hired hands on staff).

@Hedman Maximus too many investors worry about DIY pennies, while losing dollars - which it seems you may be doing.Why can't you hire a PMC to handle the properties for you?

If you talked to attorneys, why aren't you hiring them and following their advice? 

Stuff like if want us to do CRP, or if have us send someone to "babysit" and watch a vendor Landlord hired from Craiglist and doesn't trust. yeah, had that happen before.

Just got off the phone with another DIY landlord looking to hire a PMC.They really didn't like our response to their question, "How long does it take you to find a tenant?"