There is also a cost, and an opportunity cost, with self-managing versus hiring a professional manager.Without getting too far into the philosophical weeds, let's look at an analogy.Hair color, particularly for women, is a $ billion dollar industry in the U.S. and the Western world.

Valuation on large multifamily is based more on income, so there are formulas to run the numbers, versus single family where you are working from comps. 

When it comes to prepping a home for renters, versus a "forever-home", do you consider the quality of material when making cosmetic updates?

I would say your best bet is just sitting down and seeing if they know their stuff.

I've read stories of mixed success with laundry vendors here on BP, but I guess it could be a safer bet with local companies.Would you manage your shared laundries in house given the option?

@Terry EllisThere's a big difference between being active versus being passive in real estate.

.$2900 * 0.7 - $1790 (mortgage with tax and insurance) = $240/month.Lets use $250/month * 12 * 10 = $30K (versus $90K).If we use 15% for prop tax and insurance to rent ratio$2900 * 0.75 - $1790 -$385$385 * 12 * 10 -= $46.2K (lets use $50K)$111K + $50K = $161K. 

I think the sites and their estimates are pretty impressive considering they contain virtually every home in America, often with interior pics, but they are what they are: free tools that used automated formulas to predict something that can often be a bit unpredictable and can't fully account for the human emotional factor (for example I bet something like the Brady Bunch house zestimated far less than than its actual value)

I bet it's less than you could get somewhere else and you're building equity, learning REI, and taking positive action.

In a case like this, if there is a mortgage, bet your firstborn the lender will bid to get the tax lien (potentially up to the market value or the mortgage amount) to secure first lien position.