Get first hand experience that way.

Everything should be in writing...faucet swaps, toilet paper holders, hand towel rings, etc. 

If I can find a good property manager, I'd likely hand this over, but for now that's not the case.

I'm a small business owner and my wife is a real estate agent (and ex interior designer), we both have 700+ credit scores, but not enough cash on hand to cover the difference between the usual 70-75% loaned by hard money lenders and the total cost of projects in the Tampa area.  

I typically show  the apartment until I have a signed agreement/deposit in hand. 

I did tell tenant #1 not to be afraid to call the police immediately if something gets out of hand but she doesn't want to cause any problems. 

Take in all the podcasts and webinars you can and read all the books you can get your hands on.

The income and hands off property management options turn me on to the bigger units.

They are respecitvely my left and right hand.

At this point I've been as much literature on RE investment as I can my hands on.