Also I can occasionally get off of work for volunteer events, which makes it even easier to get out and learn.I agree that other investors may not want to show everything they know for fear of the competition.

And then we all complain about bloated government, high taxes, etc.

I used to occasionally see them from the 1970s during the 1990s but that was it. 

Occasionally there is an expense and you miss a quarter. 

I can supervise any work and do occasional drive-by's, etc.

The reason I ask is the manager might not know where to get the best contractors at the best pricing.They might be calling someone out of the phone book etc.Those companies mainly do retail jobs and will do an occasional investor job and be slightly lower in price but not much.If you find a contractor that does investors jobs for their main business they understand you need a low price.They get in fast and complete and make money with volume of deals versus up charging fat profits on retail deals.The most expensive cost of tiles is the cost per sq ft to install them.Regular guys wants something crazy like 3 to 4 sq ft.You have to find someone to do the labor for cheap that lays tiles and that is the key.Make sure the property manager is not building in a fee for themselves into the bid or there is a main contractor using subs to up charge you.

Buy a primary residence 3.5% down multifamily that needs work (this is completely legit as long as you leave a unit vacant and are using it, for say, repair work and the occasional overnight).  

In my area it almost seems like medium/larger multifamily is a in a bit of a bloated state. 

Most of the time I'll use them (when I determine the cost/benefit is in favor of insured contractors), but occasionally -- and this is often true of landscapers -- I'll determine the risk is relatively low, and the per-transaction savings are great enough that I'm willing to eat a potential cost down the road should there be an issue.

The only reason we have ours is because we occasionally use it ourselves as a vacation home.