Plus their quality has always been an issue.... 

Access to higher quality real estate. 

That is great, sounds like it's going to be an awesome deal.I've found you can typically get 2/3 (Time, quality, & cost). 

Cash flow is critical, but not always at the cost of collections and quality.

Ensure that you're comparing apples to apples as well, meaning the properties you use for comparison's sake should not only be of a similar style, size, number of bedrooms and bathrooms but should also be in similar quality to the level you intend to remodel your rental.If you are working with an agent and are trying to buy on market, they should be able to help with this.

The contractors that were utilized by the home warranty companies were (in general) not high-quality. 

I would definitely start off by finding a good agent as they usually have good connections with quality lenders, contractors, etc.

Personally, I like to provide a high quality product in a nice neighborhood and subsequently, I intentionally have a strong rental criteria 700+ credit etc so I can weed out the tenants I do not see being a good fit.In regards to best practices, I usually do everything via facebook messenger, text and email but I will probably utilize a google web form moving forward.

For example with an investment based Realtor, property manager, and contractor you should be able to seamlessly invest in property, and you get the added value of making sure that your product is still holding to a quality standard along with being able to see your property and replace team members more easily as well if need be.  

Now I'm not saying that above-average finishes don't attract more buyers to sign on the dotted line, but unless the appraiser notices that quality, the buyer will still need to bring $$ to closing.