If your property management company is good and has built an internal maintenance team which has set rates and had strong relationship relationships with licensed contractor which should keep costs in control, you should never need to shop contractors on your own I wouldn't think.So in short, our policy is give us your preferred contractors upfront if you have them, but then we work all tickets to resolution including dispatch, and payment of invoices.This is of course for operational expenses.  

It sounds like you may be a better fit for a smaller operation that still offers guided tours.

But the "art" really only comes with time in market and a deep understanding of both the market and the operations of assets.

I have a small wholesaling business that operates in King, Pierce, and Thurston counties.

@Jay Hinrichs exactly the risk is even more than traditional development and the profit is actually less with more operational headaches.

One workaround could be keeping a separate spreadsheet to track your adjusted tax basis accurately and only using Stessa for operational insights.You could also reach out to a cpa and see if they have a specific recommendation for software to use.  

If you are able to setup a credit card identical to your accounts payable accrual account, it should operate the same.  

Living in a great travel destination like Sonoma you should consider a duplex or triplex and operate the other unit(s) on AirBNB, VRBO, etc.

I currently operate a few STRs so have a good understanding of that aspect although they're all located in touristy locations.

Does anyone have any advice on effectively setting up temporary battery-operated cameras on a long-term rental property to deter break-ins and squatters while rent-ready repairs are being made before a tenant moves in?