The portion you rent out can be exchanged pretty safely once it’s on 2 tax returns or 2 years, and occasionally faster depending on “intent”.

So you do end up "paying" for maintenance.And please don't throw out the canard of the "problem-free" month where the PM does little work, you have to look at it through the cycle, all the hours spent on finding/placing tenants every year or two, serving 3-day notices, occasional eviction/setout, dealing with problems that crop up, arranging for repairs (God forbid getting multiple bids!!)

My issue is that my official roommate A occasionally threatens to lock B out of the house.

Patch once in a long while, seal about the same, sweep occasionally maybe every six or twelve months, paint stripes once every few years maybe five or ten, replace an occasional concrete stop bumper or sign, paint the light pole once every ten years or so. 

I have sometimes had move-ins on the same day as a move-out, although it can occasionally take a week or two to secure a new tenant.

Easily over 10mil with an occasional deal and I certainly didn't start with anywhere near $772k. 

We do occasionally have a train that comes by the cabin, It has a schedule and fun to watch go by if you are happen to be there...bla bla bla."

My parents and sister live about 45 minutes apart and neither can water at all to try to salvage anything in their yards, it’s all dead, but manage to water a little bit occasionally to try to save the foundations to their expensive houses.

I occasionally think of buying property in RVA instead of NoVa simply because it's more affordable.

If you are investing out of state, there are almost certainly more "target rich" cash-flow markets out there that are easier to get to via major airline if you want to check up on your investments occasionally.