They then issued a special assessment where each owner got charged a percentage of the total bill that included the expensive sewer line replacement, but our portion was less than we would have paid to fix our own unit, so we were fine with that.

My Owner Disbursements aren’t the total rent amount because of the expenses the property management company handles.

I've been investing in real estate with my wife since 2017, when we started with JV deals and small flips.

No General Contractor wants to do a remodel with the residents still living there....they will charge you more (they probably will not show it, but the prices will be higher because of the huge PITA factor and increased liability)I would wait until you have completely moved out and then just give them the house empty and ready to roll.....But you can get a Scope Of Work going and start getting bids...even plans and permits if you're going that far...

PS if you're really fired up about starting your journey, take a look at our BPCON 2024, it's in Cancun October 6-8th and it may feel like diving into the deep end but making that investment in yourself and your REI education can make a monumental impact as you get started! 

Ask an investor to tell you their buy & hold or flip economic model and they start stuttering.

You never know how much damage the termites have done until you start tearing into walls/floors....can get expensive fast.Location is the only thing that cannot be fixed, and you said this property was in a "really good location". 

Once we hit junior year and started leaving the dorms, we had established ourselves well enough in our college town that we weren't going home for the whole summer anyways.

The ROI quoted by some companies selling coffee farm parcels in Boquete is totally unrealistic. 

I started using it as a STR 4 years or so ago.