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!

HI Jordan,You can always start off by house hacking meaning you live in one UNIT or ROOM and renting out the other vacant units/rooms to offset your monthly mortgage payment.There are several ways to run and make sure you are maximizing your rental income while keeping your living expense as low as possible.

. - Get connected with someone locally that you can either walk one of their projects or go on a potential deal walkthrough with just to keep the momentum going.

The other thing to keep in mind is that windstorm coverage applies to wind damage to the entire building, and not just the roof in my experience. 

I plan to keep this house and use it as either a rental home or continue to house hack it.

Under most Bankruptcy laws, you can't take the person home away, thus finance companies won't work with you. 

Great, keep us posted here, so we can learn from you.

I would have a local person whether it's you or a management service.

Ideally I would like to keep my personal finances separate from my REI. 

The person isn't going to want to sell their house for the loan balance and closing costs in this market.