I will be maintaining everything within arms reach in the future and no longer trusting PMs to any aspect of upkeep.  

I already know I will want to outsource this aspect of my rental property business but haven't started vetting PM companies.

Everyone can't buy a 500k house, ain't gonna happen.The 2nd point - the whole "this time is different" because of no Subprime, etc, is flawed, when we were listing REO's right up until 2019, at LEAST 50% were people with good loans, who strategically defaulted. 

Zillow is helpful in some aspect, but I would not suggest you put 100 percent of your hope on it.

I am working on treating this like an actual business and have started putting together a strategic plan, lists of company-specific to-do's, and other business centric needs. 

So if there is a way to gameplan or strategize a way for an investor to be able access conventional loan rates instead of DSCR loans – that means a lower monthly or more buying power for the investor.

Own all aspects. 

I guess I’m just not understanding the whole aspect of equity in general.

Some are very specific to particular aspects of real estate investing, some are like RDPD, some are more purely investing in general, and some, like the 2006 International Residential Code, are specific to construction.

HOWEVER, in specific cases, it might be strategic to accept them.