I hired a PM who agreed to manage my property for 8% of the rent.

Lots of good stories and great information on there. 

This will help you understand your options and decide if it's the right time to hire a pro. 

I want technology to help me gather information and execute quickly. 

Feel free to DM me if you'd like more insights on all this (we don't do biz in Alabama so got nothing to lose).Here's some other "copy & paste" advice on how to search for a better PMC:----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------Recommend exploring as many sources as possible to get referrals AND cross-reference them to get as much accurate information as possible.Check out NARPM.com, BP’s Property Manager Finder (BiggerPockets: The Real Estate Investing Social Network), etc.Also, encourage you to learn from the mistakes of others - by reading posts here on BiggerPockets about owners not having their expectations met by their current Property Management Company.

One key takeaway for future projects is the value of hiring professional painters.

Common problem, no easy answer:(We try to allow our owner clients to arrange their own maintenance, but have learned the hard way there MUST be limitations:1) They can't hire our people!

At that point we hired an independent appraiser and the numbers came back good and the hard money lender agreed to use them.  

The information contained in this post is not to be relied upon.

It’s good to budget for unforeseen expenses.Regarding PMI, it’s worth discussing directly with your loan servicer since many lenders require holding the property for a period or reaching specific equity thresholds before removal.If market rents are $2,200–$2,500, hiring a property manager could help you optimize rent while taking the burden of tenant screening off your plate.