On average, the profits from such a strategy might be higher in Boulder than all but a select few markets in the country (maybe certain parts of SoCal offer slightly better opportunities?). 

The difficulty was not finding properties that would make money, it was selecting the property that would make the most money.  

To avoid going through the same poor experience, keep reading.Even if someone gives you a referral here, do NOT make the mistake of assuming that the PMC will meet your expectations, just because they met the expectations of the referral source.In our experience, the #1 mistake owners make when selecting a Property Management Company (PMC) is ASSUMING instead of CONFIRMING.It's often a case of not doing enough research, as they don't know what they don't know!

Better tenant selection and regular inspections will stop this from happening.

Then open a new Google Sheet file, click Open and then select Upload.

@V Reddy First, setting up an LLC to invest in real estate is generally to limit personal liability and for asset protection (select "magnifying glass icon" in top-right corner and search "LLC", you'll get a lot of feedback).

- select markets will be stronger than others.

Selecting bad PM's and now considering selecting a bad tenant...

I have committed myself to being as educated as possible so that when I have put in a few years of self-management I can then select and manage a good PM.

The type of cleaning service would depend on the property that is selected.