Not a rookie - While I have never purchased a home without an agent, I have purchased two homes in the last fifteen years in Denver and, at some point, managed both with some form of rental income, plus helping my mom manage the independent basement apartment in her home.

My suggestion would be to cap your utilities at a certain amount and have Tenants pay anything over that amount.That will help you manage your expenses, and also allow Tenants to gage their usage each month, and make adjustments if they don't want to go over the allotted amount.As far as collection, provide the bill showing any overages and just have them pay for it along with their rent. 

Divide the long-term vision into manageable steps.

Also thinking about wholesaling as a means to build capital  @Makani Donaldson Do you know anyone in your market that owns MTRs and LTRs that manages their own properties and needs help?

Start by being actively involved with your PROPERTY MANAGEMENT duties.  

Getting a rental license as an out-of-state investor is doable, but you’ll need to manage inspections and compliance.

Capacity and Tolerance. 1) Capacity: how many people can you comfortably fit in the property, is there room to add more, or add more value to the tenants to increase rent.2) Tolerance: How many people are you comfortable living with, if there are vacancies are you able to handle that.House hacking is an amazing path to homeownership, and a nice low barrier to entry into self managing your properties.

Louis, MO real estate, ABODEbucks is a full-service STR-specific management company charging a flat $250/mo + $20/night booked.

Quote from @Pamela Rivas: Hi Natasha,Here are some key points to consider about setting up a Mexican corporation:Setup Costs: $1,500–$3,000 USDOngoing Costs: $1,000–$2,000 USD/year (accounting and tax filings)Benefits: Tax deductions for expenses like maintenance, repairs, and managementBest for: Multiple properties or income-generating investmentsWhile a corporation is ideal for managing multiple properties, it’s NOT required to obtain an RFC.

She doesn’t need local family to manage it.