Paying a reasonable amount to assist in one's life improvement is not a bad thing, just don't do nothing else thinking this one thing is the 'cats pajamas' as DG likes to say.

Basically - I want a PM who keeps the property in good shape and occupied to get paid, and a PM who is either bad at maintaining properties and finding good tenants, or just really unlucky, to not get paid.- PM charges 8% of rent, which escalates to 10% if the property exceeds 95% occupancy with rent collection. - PM charges minimal fees.- PM is contractually obligated to perform annual maintenance/inspection to keep property in top shape. - PM provides a cash based accounting report every month, for every unit under management, that clearly labels all rent, all expenses, including management fees, and the net directly ties to the amount of money deposited into my bank account.- PM is a licensed handyman, or has them on staff, and takes care of most unit turn work at a reasonable rate. - PM has no breakup/termination fee- PM does not take project management fees, except on large or complicated CapEx projects exceeding $5,000. 

Unfortunately - my current lot for my primary is 1 acre and VERY sloped, and close to a water source (creek), so the county has not even allowed me to permit my downstairs finished basement without an extremely costly renovation to our septic (over $60,000, and that doesn't count demo'ing and replacing our driveway to get to the existing tank and leachfield), and even if I could permit it, it would essentially need to be a treehouse in the redwoods due to the slope (not a bad idea though, I would actually love a livable treehouse on this lot!

The cause of the 2008-2010 Great Recession was bad real estate loans - if you could fog  a mirror, you could get a mortgage!

spelling out expectations is never a bad thing.So far it has never been an issue. 

How bad is this going to continue to hold back the CRE market?

There can also be a lot of bad advice, so be sure you know your local laws before blindly accepting this type of advice.After 30 years of being in this industry, a lot has happened. 

It's in a C+ area which isn't bad at all.

It takes some time and effort to get a license but it's not too bad.

It also includes managing your existing investment well to ensure you aren't bleeding money due to bad tenants, excess maintenance, etc.