I'm a brand new pro member looking to make connections and to learn what I don't know!

Then it became apparent the irrigation nozzles were routinely spraying water against my house and subsequently that this water was getting in - carpets were damp coming through from padding below.After checking pipes etc with a couple plumbers who found nothing wrong with any pipes in summer and fall 2017 ...

You may want to request a free quote from a couple of agencies.Your PM costs seem conservative at around 14% but just check if they charge a fee to put tenants in place where they take a % pf the first months rent.

That being said, we managed a couple of properties for one year for a man who bought them from us and we did a "mid month" report (written, descriptive) just to let him know what was going on so there wouldn't be any surprises when we did our report on the 3rd (we always did our "end of month" report on the 3rd, after bank statements cleared and were reconciled, at which time we could also tell him if all rents for the next month were cleared, and if not, why. 

@Reggie Maggard not always but I give her couple hundred here and there.

I'm from Alabama and I will be here the next couple of months.

I also think that those "outside factors you have no control over" that contribute to a neighborhood improving have been a guessing game, but are actually able to be tracked because of advances in technology over the past couple of years. 

That property provided us with a 50% IRR (I have the Austin market to thank for that).A couple years after purchasing the condo, we started looking for our first duplex.

Call a couple and ask about pricing.

I would ask a couple lenders or brokers to send you some estimates with ZERO upfront fees to compare.