And who the hell wants to have to constantly monitor the unit and shut the AC on/off with the WIFI every time they leave?

Or there are some good Submetering systems out there that can be installed and monitored after the original meter on the plumbing.

I do not monitor them being onsite but I do monitor the progress . . . if things are off the timeline, we have a discussion but will address time on site. 

Your obvious options:1) Find your own handyman you can trust and somehow monitor remotely--Expect to be screwed by many to find one you can really trust2) Hire a great Property Management Company, which you will still need to monitor remotely.

I do monitor Fairbanks but haven't done much with it because it's almost 400 miles away.

@Hilary GravesI do this if it suits me at the time.As I monitor the work done in a vacant property, I sometimes get the stragglers just looking.Usually I make the time, as this could be the renter I will be leasing to for the next 3 to 5 years.

Bigger Pockets has some great state forums and usually there are good locals that monitor those.

Its best to start as close to home as possible, that way you can monitor things. 

Developing scorecards to monitor accountability (with Key Performance indicators) is another good idea, plus you can tie each other's pay to their performance that way.I'd suggest reading "Scaling Up" by Verne Harnish and "Traction" by Gino Wickman.

Most of my clients start searching on redfin or Zillow, and then I get them set up on an autosearch through my MLS where I can monitor their activity.I totally agree about the blandness of stock real estate sites (even the custom ones look the same IMHO).