I am a firm believer in gold and silver.

Have to pay a law firm every couple years to contest them so they don't get out of control.

Calling some management firms?

My experience as a Property Manager has shown me that if you give timetables, stay firm on them.

Most hired hands are going to burn out fast after they have to chew out a misbehaving sub the third or fourth time.Let me give you an idea from my perspective -We are a design build firm and handle projects including plans, design, permit, material logistics, payroll, book-keeping, ground/assembly management, scheduling, rescheduling, vendor management, quality control/assurance, and every other aspect of construction.We typically have about 5 'ground active' jobs, and 5-7 more in the hopper in some phase of planning, design, or permitting.To accomplish this, we have a meager staff of 2 designers (one of whom is a 20 year architectural veteran), a full time office manager, a full time site manager, a helper who splits time between being a carpenter's assistant and a gopher for materials, and someone who does scheduling and material takeoffs.

  #2 you should figure it in because you may eventually want to hire a PM firm to run the property for you when you start building up your portfolio. 

I recently decided to hang my license at Helen Adams Realty, a well known family firm here in Charlotte, NC!

If that happens and they do not know about or understand/buy into your criteria, they may feel discriminated against and bring a case against you.That said, provided you are firm on your criteria and can prove consistency in it's application, then you should be fine.  

He did a decent job, but I don't feel that we receive the guidance and strategic help that we need as we expand our flipping and rental property portfolio.We have an interview coming up with Tom Wheelhouse's firm ProVision (Rich Dad, Poor Dad recommended)(and am looking for a couple other firms to interview) and was wondering what questions you would ask to help make a decision if a firm is the right fit for your real estate business?

Because you self manage (as in managing the firm that manages the property) doesn't mean tenants have to write rent checks to your personal name.