If you just hire the cheapest or first PMC you speak with and it turns into a bad experience, please don’t assume ALL PMC’s are bad and start trashing PMC’s in general.

If I rent it out, I'll be hiring a property manager because I don't want to deal with trying to manage it from out of state.Some numbers:Purchased with 0% down VA loanPurchase Price: 189KMortgage: 172KRate: 2.25%4 Bed / 2.5 Bath~2400sq/ftBuilt in 1992Zillow Sales Estimate: 280KZillow Rent Estimate: 2,100/moRoof and AC are less than 10 years old.

From what I have heard, Dayton is a similar market, and you will ALWAYS save money by investing locally by not needing to hire a Property Manager (yet).

for any number of reasons these students could lose the EM and or it could be stuck and they need to litigate to get it back  .. who is going to hire and attorney to litigate over a 1k EM.. 

It really depends on the condition of the property and your relationship with the agent.We bought an off market deal years ago and hired an agent to push paperwork.

If you just hire the cheapest or first PMC you speak with and it turns into a bad experience, please don’t assume ALL PMC’s are bad and start trashing PMC’s in general.

It sounds like you / your parents should just hire a professional property manager for the inherited properties.  

I've seen it happen countless times, especially from one company here in Birmingham.2 - Hire your own home inspector. do not use any home inspector a turnkey provider recommends.

We’re still weighing whether to manage ourselves or hire a property manager, but I’m definitely leaning towards having a reliable team in place either way.Your advice about not taking on too much risk is a good reminder.

I'd like to keep savings and be able to hire out some of the work (something we have not done in the past).My thoughts are to put both into an LLC and look for investors or a business loan, and purchase and move to a new home.