If possible, I always recommend using your own capital starting out to prove process and concepts before taking hard money for flips.

This is standard business practice - just look up how many settlements the SEC makes annually where companies pay millions in penalties WITHOUT ADMITTING to any wrong doing.- Cash-for-Keys is another example of this!

Set it aside in a low risk mutual fund or even a standard savings account. 

No, I'm not going to explain the concept here.

Is it standard practice for a PM to visit the home and see what the issue is before sending out a repair person?

If they are not managing it to your standards, hire a different property manager and let them manage it.

Standard real estate practices.

That being said, here’s what I would recommend for a thorough DD process:-Build a plan in advance (setup a spreadsheet, meet with the team, etc)-be prepared to take a lot of pictures -document notes with each room (we use notes on Apple and share it with the team)-align the team on standardizing information (example: what does “bad” mean, what does “okay” mean, etc - everyone looks at things differently and you want to make sure the notes are accurate during your debrief)-bring in professionals for things you can see, like sewer lines hope this short list helps! 

The bottom floor is a permanent STR.At this point, living on the top floor of an STR no longer fits my life and while it has been somewhat profitable depending on the month, I can no longer handle the hassle of management and would be taking a loss if I used a standard airbnb property manager. 

Such as a management systems, best rent collection service, laws around notices and evictions, a standardized lease, etc...