If you offer high quality affordable housing, you'll always find and magically attract good tenants. 

Hi Jasmine-Congratulations on being ready to turn your primary residence into a rental.Your question is should you use a property manager or self-manage your property.If there is enough positive cashflow or you can afford to pay a property manager, I always recommend doing so for the following reasons:1.

Quote from @Lorraine Hadden: I have client who are try to wait for interest rates to come down rather than buying what they can afford for the best rate and hold.

You could live in one unit and rent out the others to offset your mortgage, staying within your $4,500/month affordability limit.

If they cannot afford it then talk to the bank about a short sale or let it go to foreclosure.

People who live in a slum do so because that is what they can afford.

Not the most scalable method, but I like the benefits it affords me while I am still a smaller operation.Completing 500 builds in just over 10 years is impressive for someone who just sorta fell into it.

Assuming you have 5 units, each worth 300K, and you could afford the loss of one, but not all.

These markets offer a great mix of affordability, strong rental demand, and steady appreciation.

Work with someone who can guide you or just accept that your tuition will be paid through making some costly mistakes which is also legit if you can afford that :-) Good luck!