Your first run at ideas are more aspirational, but not necessarily actionable in the short term.

You have a head full of ideas, and that is a good thing.

A lot of maintenance issues are repeated again and again on all the properties a PMC manages.So, a PMC has pretty good idea of what many issues cost.

The rental had ratty furniture, a record player prominently featured in the marketing but it had no speakers, missing basics items in the kitchen, lots of drunks in the concrete hallways that reverberated right into the bedroom at 2am, a strong odor of urine outside, and more.We have super hosts in this forum that have hundreds of 5-star reviews and are masters of the craft, but I look at their rentals and see they don't have any artwork on the walls, decor is basic, they do nothing to make the guest feel welcome, etc. 

When you invest, it is a good idea to have a 5-10 year hold horizon that you are planning for, not just looking at the immediate situation in an area. 

The appraisal was the longest hold up but the junior loan officer we were assigned seems to have zero idea what he is doing and zero sense of urgency...

The owner was open to the idea and outlined their terms and conditions.After several weeks of negotiations, we reached an agreement, and the seller signed a binding contract.

This was a brilliant idea, I didnt get to try it, but certainly will in the future. 

Polis supports the idea, if not the specifics of the bill.

I think house-hacking is a great idea and I would be more than happy to help you with the financing.