I know the ideal is 20% but I would like to keep some cash for emergencies.

Sometimes it ends up being more of a shell game with one lump reserve emergency reserve fund spread across multiple properties.

I gave the police the emergency contact information from the rental application.Thank you both for responding, I'll try a different cleaning company. 

No cash reserve/emergency fund is a big no no.

I have an emergency savings for 1 of my properties that will cover at least 3 months of vacancy and about 3k for unexpected repairs. it seems easier to to have a savings set up instead of allocating a % from the rental income each month. is this a no No?

Per your question I have one person, a private individual, who works as my cleaner/greeter/on the ground manager/emergency contact for the rental and they take a percentage of each as pay.

Well fast forward six weeks and I had an emergency shut off call put in the water company and they shut off the water to the place.

This policy has allowed me to be consistent when dealing with late pays, flexible enough to work with good tenants that have the occasional problem, it encourages good communication with late fee discounts (I send out a letter saying next time you can save money if you let me know in advance...)discourages habitual lates (tenants save lates for 'emergencies')limits my losses (at most I'm out 15 days rent before I file for eviction)I'm probably going to add a fee for the delivery of quit or pay notices in all future rental agreements.

I want to be as prepared as possible before I make this first step and want to make sure I have enough money in the bank to cover any unexpected costs or emergencies that you wouldn't have if you were renting.Thanks in advance,Max Butler

It's a lot easier to deal with a locally owned property during the "learning process" than having to pay a property manager or fly in the manage an emergency.