Please work with a professional - I see people get burned all of the time, thinking they have all of the tools to be a private lender - we take calls weekly from people trying to figure out what to do on a deal they are a lender on that there is an issue with. 

You could negotiate in a frequency of visits from your property manager that you are satisfied with but you will have to micromanage them to make sure they are actually visiting and then they will probably charge you some ridiculous amount for each one (or a higher percent).If you are burned out on managing your own properties you will have to accept that a PM will not manage them to the same level that you are and be willing to live with the risk that the houses are not being kept up as nice.

Should I avoid window air conditioners at all cost and opt for the new energy-efficient floor air-conditioners?  

Now, if your plan were to live in half the building (the smaller unit) and use the larger unit as a mortgage helper, you would look at things through a different lens.I am a big proponent of improving the energy efficiency of older buildings, but am not found of carrying the utilities - I like everyone to be responsible for their own resource consumption.  

We decided after that near-burn to begin looking in Pueblo, about 50 mins from where we live now.

They market hard for their borrower investors. as they burn through them .. because many frankly just don't do that well and take a huge risk buying a home that has not had an inspection. 

(unless they are a large company, of course).they will immediately think you are a pain to work with. i know how it feels to be burned and it sucks. good luck. to me, finding contractors is the worst part of this business.

@William Wong Student rentals can be very time consuming, I highly recommend that you do it in a market you are very close to if you do it.You will also want to take steps to making sure you don't get burned, here are a few that I have done:*Get parents to co-sign the lease, a student will be less likely to trash the place and not pay rent if mom or dad are going to be getting a phone call.

It may be worth considering spending a few years on Wall Street building a bank account until you burn out.  

Hey guys, have a question here.  I've been bounced around for 2 days now.  I just closed, and I need to put the electrics into my name.    However, I need to put it under my LLC name.  When they hear LLC they keep giv...