This agreement is just like a listing agreement when you go list a home, you are hiring the right person for the job, so this is the same type of contract, but this person is hired to find you the right home. 

what I saw happen personally was a revolt. instead of cash call to the original GP they used that cash to hire attorney and boot the GPs out with threats of bad things to happen to them.. a couple of the LPS stepped into the GP roll with the attorney guiding them and well folks then put more money in and the projects were ultimately lost a few years later. 

He hires and manages the trades and all the labor.

As I'm new to this domain, I would to hire a consultant to perform some zoning and other due diligence activities.

This is usually the case if past owners did a poor job maintaining, and just hired the cheapest neighborhood handyman to patch everything. 

Or go the motor home route. ( wife does not care for the motor home route though) Or just do what we do now.. fly to where we want to fish stay in hotel and hire a guide !!!..

Quote from @Sergio P Ramos: @Jay Hinrichs did you demo it yourself or hired a company to demo?.

Tools like QuickBooks or even a simple spreadsheet can help you mentain compliance and prepare for audits.Reinvest WiselyScaling a short-term rental business often requires reinvestment in marketing, property upgrades, or even hiring help.

This PM company is clearly out of their depth even though they told me last month that they had hired more staff and were making improvements to their processes.

.- Once your time is more impotant to you then the cost of a PMC, you can hire one.2) Hire a PMC to guide you on your first rental and learn from their expertise.- You can buy additional properties and DIY manage those, perhaps leaning on the PMC for any issues you're not sure how to handle on your own.Good luck:)