Understand the fees involved and calculate the total cost for an entire year of management so you can compare the different managers.

Still, real estate is different in that shelter is a necessity (versus say me selling pies, if I charge too much you can always buy cakes instead), which means that invariably government will be motivated to get involved.

Your accountant should be involved.

I've been involved and successful on hundreds of deals.

Tenants cant just consent to a solar company coming and installing panels on your house, you will be involved one way or another, most likely financially too.

My parents need to sell there home and I was planning on fix and flipping it for them since I've already been researching all about this investing option and know more about the logistics involved than they do.

Obviously prices don't increase uniformly each year, some years the price may go up, some years it may go down, but if we track the prices long enough, by definition the price will trend to the average unless there are outside factors involved (Detroit collapsing, or the shifting demographics away from the midwest and towards the coastal and southern regions). 

I've been reading up on it - fully aware how challenging it can be to get financing, finding inventory and all the management involved but also intrigued by the cashflow if the deal is good. 

Do you have involvement in the handy work or let a contractor do it while you oversee? 

As a listing agent, I love when unrepresented buyers come directly to me, not so much since I can make more commission, but because I know that buyer is going to pay more and waive contingencies than if they had proper representation....then I convince them what a good deal they got, and how smart they were for not getting another agent involved.