With that, (and regarding your Question #2) I think your expense line items and numbers will run very similar to what can be found in this BP blog: https://www.biggerpockets.com/member-blogs/3915/27972-analyzing-the-financials-of-a-self-storage-facilityYou'll have larger units, which typically means longer length of stay and lower turnover so your management/payroll expense could be lower.

Hello, my name is Dylan and I am just beginning to take an interest in real estate after earning my bachelors in environmental engineering from SDSU. This is my first post on BiggerPockets after reading some intro lev...

I also call PMs and let them know I have a property under contract and I want to know if they manage there.

If you know the neighborhood well and know it's not a neighborhood issue, it's most often just a result of poor management.

Is there a recommended option for washer/dryer that doesn't require coins/bills but instead takes phone pay or a card, so that both tenants and prop managers don't have to deal with coins and bills?

It has not been well maintained over the last 19 years with a string of just bad renters and the person I had managing it just didn't do good quality repairs or work to it. 

you just need a property manager, they don't specialize in MTR, they are the same as those that manage other types of rentals. 

Also, you get a great app that they built to manage all of your deals.

Notified property manager.

Hi Andrew - I use Reliant Energy (https://www.reliant.com) for the rental portfolio I own and the rentals I manage for others.You can ask Reliant for a month-to-month contract, instead of a 1 year contract.