I've always worked for myself and didn't have a ton of support so I was not able to prove my income for quite some time due to doing my taxes wrong or not understanding how things work.

G'Day Luka,I'm not a fan of out of state BRRRR.It's hard enough for us on the ground to get rehabs done on time and on budget and I don't even want to think how difficult, expensive and time consuming it would be for out of state investors.And then include a high LTV and that can be a portfolio killer IMO.Hat's off to you mate for grabbing the bull and jumping in.You live, you make mistakes, you learn and you grow.Such is life.Building a large portfolio is an absolute must when investing in sub $100,000 properties in Ohio.I "killed" my business by not wanting to sell to investors that are using leverage.Our sales volume could increase by 70-80% but it is what it is.I just don't believe in it or want the hassle associated with it lolReason is mostly two fold:1) Not in the mood to deal with lenders for 2 months and hope the deal will go through.2) I don't believe that investors should use high LTV when building the foundation of their portfolio.My advice to you:1) Pay them off as quickly as you can.2) Build a larger portfolio.The investors that $#@% the most on my name are the ones that buy 1 or 2 properties and expect miracles.As you said, 1 furnace goes out or a sewer line needs repaired and bye bye cashflow for 2 years.We get blamed although we can't predict to fix certain things and there are just many unknowns with all investments.Our happiest investors are the ones that own 6-7 or even 10+ properties and all with cash and no leverage.They aren't worried about turns or tenant issues that occur on 1 or 2 properties as it's just the nature of the beast.Returns vary but across the board over the last 10 years I have seen 6-10% net ROI's year after year.Building a large portfolio is a must to minimize risk and to get the best possible long term ROI.Thanks 

Their new online system is really confusing, and I have had to call customer support for help each time I needed to wire/ACH funds because I could never figure it out on my own (and their customer service chat box isn't set up yet). 

It can be difficult and time consuming to find every possible entry point but Section 8 is going to tell you that it's your responsibility to eliminate entry points. 

I would prefer some a group of nice tenants getting some sort of government support.

Have the agent video everything, just in case tenant is there and causes a scene or refuses access.You will either get the work done or have a video supporting your eviction.

They can handle time-consuming tasks like lease renewals, tenant correspondence, and basic admin work.

I do have a tenant with a support animal that is allowed and pet rent cannot be charged. 

The one habit that changed my life was contemplating how every dollar could create another dollar instead of a consumable purchase.

I know it appears costly and timing consuming, but not doing your diligence will cost you more.