However, the most unfortunate thing I see in this business all the time is when someone turns over their investment to a company that simply does not do enough when it comes to managing.To keep this post succinct, I highly recommend calling multiple companies and asking the questions from this great BP post: https://www.biggerpockets.com/renewsblog/2015/01/1...I have managed a scattered site portfolio consisting of 144 single family homes and multi 2-4 throughout St.

Great resources on the site, have you checked out the podcasts? 

Welcome to the site @Joe Kaslowski!

I see all over this site that you will lose money if you use a property manager.

Welcome to the site Pablo.

I haven't tried the other sites since I think it requires upfront costs(don't recall).

Basically, I still don’t know what I want to be when I grow up so I’m hoping real estate investing will buy me some time.I’ve been feverishly pouring over the forums as well as other sites that I have found through BP, like Mr money mustache.

Having been to many of their events and knowing how this works from the back offices and so on and so forth.what I  see  is just like any other slice of life.. some get it will do good.. others no chance they don't have the personality they don't have the drive and commitment.And or they think by reading BP or paying for a mentor is all they need to all of a sudden be a real estate rock star.and at the end of the day.. most gravitate to what you see here on BP  they realize this is a uber tough business with a lot of rejection.. and they will do what it takes to buy rentals. that's why this is predominantly a landlord site.. its the easiest to understand and the easiest to implement.. not that everyone who gets into land lording is successful because many fail at it ..

If so, which sites (air B&B, HomeAway, VRBO, booking, trip adviser etc) do you receive the most inquiries and/or business?

Is payroll covered in management for your on site help?