As an example I worked as a real estate administrator/assistant property manager on the commercial side.

Hi Monica, In Australia you can check tenancy data bases such as https://www.tica.com.au/.

Is there a middle ground where I can have someone do the bookings, price changing, administrative tasks, and they get paid a salary or percentage but I still end up not paying PM levels?

If the prospective tenant fulfills their obligation and moves in as planned, the Holding Deposit will be refunded/converted towards the Administrative Move-In Fee, which is $100-$200 and due at time of move-in.

My specific concerns relate to whether filing a claim against a bond introduces a substantial administrative hurdle that (when compared to the ease of converting a security deposit) makes a Rental Bond undesirable?

Also, review the contract you have with the Section 8 administrator, which is most likely your local Housing Authority, and follow their requirements.

Cash value only), now you must replace it, no matter the cost to yourself, or you won't be renewed, and most likely won't be covered by other ins co's because they all pull from a central "core" database that keeps this info. 

Monthly 0.6% or 7% yearly seems little considering administration costs of the appartment building are not included.

In my example below, I have a pivot table from a financial database for multiple properties.

Inspections are difficult and their administrative response is glacial.