I am also a huge fan of real estate and for the past 50 years there's been a way to combine both.By leveraging a Self-Directed IRA, real estate investors enjoy both the traditional advantages of property ownership and the additional tax benefits of retirement accounts, creating a powerful wealth-building strategy.

This also leads owners to ASSUME simpler is better when it comes to management contracts.

@Kyle McVay I self-managed my first 5 units and then transferred all new units to a PM.

When you allude to "real wealth-drivers," to what are you referring?

I think it is by far the quickest way to generate wealth.

@Tammy Elias The lease is tied to the property, not the management company.

He had a Viper and several other toys:)Are you planning on passing any of your wealth to others?

To set the stage, I'm owner of a short-term rental property in the Poconos in PA and we use a property management company for bookings, maintenance/cleaning, guest management, etc.This past weekend we had a guest booking but when the guests arrived Friday evening the house had no running water, though it had been running fine earlier in the day when the Property manager (PM) was at the house to give a final check and leave the welcome packet.

It wouldn't hurt to set up time to meet with agents, property managers, lenders, and others while you’re visiting your markets of interst.

The truth is, a good host will spend time managing each rental.