You could always sign up for a trial account for 30 days to try it for yourself.

I wouldn't focus on how much money you are giving up in the partnership (honestly if structured correctly you would actually make more than you would by not partnering) rather focus on learning how to do the business faster which will make you exponentially more money in the long run than you would if you tried to go the long route by learning through trial and error. 

I have decided to use Propstream (because during my dealmachine trial I was unable to access the website on a desktop for three consecutive days...), and would like to know suggestions on good skip tracing service and direct mail service.2.

Airdna has some trial free tools that you could use for the time being and there is Rabbu.

@Michael Weidler getting your first property is huge, and sort of a trial by fire.  

They let you do a one month trial.

One.My choices are:1) Allow dogs and get a $350 non-refundable pet fee.2) Get $0 and have the students lie the entire year with some variation of "My friend is out of town visiting for the weekend and it's their dog".I chose #2 for the first 5-6 years and then finally decided to quit swimming upstream. 

Sometimes if the thermostat is located on the 1st floor, you will have a temperature variation on the 2nd floor i.e. a few degrees hotter. 

I'd like to start with service on my 4-unit as a trial and then likely expand to services for all my current and future properties (goal of 1 acquisition per year). 

The risk of wild variations in performance is often overlooked by many new investors.