I always say if you have $15,000-$50,000 buy a house, buy a condo, learn from experience, it will be more valuable learning on the job and in the end you have a piece of real estate.   

This is a learning experience and talking to lawyers, inspectors and insurance companies is always helpful in the long term.  

You'll learn so much and then know what to look for if you ever decide to hire a pM company.Personally, I have my tenants text me directly.

I don't have a problem with that at all, I'm more interested in working alongside someone while learning than the profits. 

The contract doesn't outline the process for termination at this early stage though, again, it's my lesson to learn, I will be wiser and more careful about this the next time I sign a contract with any PM!

The way I did this, and I started at about your age and with a wife and 3 kids, is I learned quickly that I need to buy out of state.

I’m excited to connect with fellow investors, share insights, and learn from your experiences.

@Daniel KebedeRecommend 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.

Me and my spouse wanted to briefly introduce ourselves, our company, and share our ambitions with the BP community with hopes of learning more about how to achieve our short term and long term goals as well as build lasting connections that help and assist others in achieving theirs! 

I'm Ben from Lubbock TX, looking to learn and grow my portfolio through long term rentals.