Relationships are key in this industry.4.Analyze Markets: Whether it’s your local area or out-of-state, study the market’s potential for growth, rentability, and appreciation.5.Take Action: You don’t need to know everything to get started.

I recently purchased a duplex and the garage is being rented out by another party.

Why not just do a cash out refinance and add them to title so you can walk away with some cash now? 

So to that end even though I think of myself as private I am in the business so I am a HML  the other folks posting on this site are all HML.. to me a PML is just that someone who is private and NOT in the business they they do a few deals out of their IRA for solo k a year and generally to people they know..

Purchase price: $485,000 Cash invested: $125,000 This property was zoned residential and commercial.

I own both myself and I also have helped many out of area investors find properties that work what you are considering

Here are a bunch that will help your research.https://www.biggerpockets.com/users/ZacharyCole/referenceshttps://www.biggerpockets.com/forums/92/topics/765347-rent-to-retirement-reviewhttps://www.biggerpockets.com/forums/92/topics/1116050-a-huge-win-with-cori-from-rent-to-retirementhttps://www.biggerpockets.com/forums/850/topics/895660-my-first-investment-property-an-out-of-state-dealhttps://www.biggerpockets.com/forums/88/topics/1047543-big-profits-from-new-construction-sfr-build-in-cape-coral-flhttps://www.biggerpockets.com/forums/92/topics/983659-first-investment-property-with-rent-to-retirement?

Recommend exploring as many sources as possible to get referrals AND cross-reference them to get as much accurate information as possible.Check out NARPM.com, BP’s Property Manager Finder (BiggerPockets: The Real Estate Investing Social Network), etc.Also, encourage you to learn from the mistakes of others - by reading posts here on BiggerPockets about owners not having their expectations met by their current Property Management Company.

She'll be presenting a variety of topics and open discussion, with the goal being "Make your STR stand out in a competitive market".What additional topics or specific questions should we be sure to answer that you wish you knew when you started buying STR's? 

If they attempt to fix the problems but fail your inspection, give them notice of termination and 30 days to be out.