There are extra benifits to house hacking but numbers have to make sence for when you plan to leave said property. 

That might mean paying that extra 20% you mentioned, but that too could be negotiated if you build the relationship with your property manager and they see you as a longer-term investor with more business to come.  

Especially, if you charge more for extra guests.

@Joan Pla there are so many more advantages to doing a house hack than investing in a small multi out of state that it really does not make sense to burn time on looking out of state. 

Emotional support animals are to be treated just like service animals you can't say no you can't charge extra rent or an extra deposit and it would just come from the normal deposit if the cat damaged the property.

@Diana Johnson  I tend to be a really nice guy but I have been burned by taking chances.  

My thoughts are that it never hurts to go the extra effort to make the contract as clear as possible as long as the additional provisions don't conflict with any other part of the contract.  

There are many investors who have experienced challenges with 3rd party management (and unapproved concessions are unacceptable).Now the tough love part...it's going to be difficult to make a profit with a $500-600/mth rental purchased for $55K (and impossible with 3rd party management...have to factor in extra vacancy and higher repair cost). 

I usually try to get as much info from each institution as possible before I let them run it so I am 99% sure I'll be approved before I give them the green light but this creates a bunch of extra work on my end.

It may sound nice to pay a 5% management fee but the extra fees can add up to be more than the other company that charges 10% with no add-on fees.