Here are my thoughts about your decision to refinance.Process:Understand your current loan terms.Check your credit score.Compare offers from different lenders.Get your property appraised.Submit your application and go through closing.Considerations:Current interest rates vs. your existing rate.Amount of equity built in one year.Closing costs and fees.Your long-term financial goals.It's a complex decision, so consulting a financial advisor or mortgage specialist might be helpful.

It amazes me how much random transient travel it gets(bowling tournaments, pawn shop remodels, manufacturing employees, traveling photographers, etc). 

Out of state investing gives you all of the headaches of local investing plus the costs of plane tickets and travel time.Also, never trust people, especially as a rookie.

Should I offer to pay them for their consultation, or are these types of questions common as part of the PM vetting process and is a "courtesy service"?

It sure about VRBO as I haven’t travelled using them. 

Great points from @Doug Smith and some I will be leveraging in my own work.We do some "pitching" of startups to landlords and while not a 1:1 comparison we generally also leverage the credibility of the team or consultants that the startup is using to mitigate their risk. 

And when I was doing aheroshome.org and doing 1 hour consultations to BP members for a donation to our Charity..

The Podio team at Citrix can you with this, and there are lots of third-party consultants like me to can help as well.  

It’s always a good idea to consult a tax professional or real estate bookkeeper to ensure you maximize your deductions while staying compliant.

I also do consulting from time to time to share how leverage and build a profitable holding company or fix/flip entity.