You are correct though, a good cleaning crew and a good/ reliable handyman are critical to any out of state STR.

If you want to succeed in RE investing, getting this experience will be critical!

These numbers become critical once you move to depending on your rental income to support your bills and lifestyle.Those items add up to a lot more than most people expect, especially because they only appear sporadically.I don't have enough information on your properties to speculate on specific numbers, but those items can easily eat up 30% or more of your expected gross rent income.

That is honestly a much more critical piece of the equation when it comes to evaluating expertise, access to and quality of support, and overall value to you as an investor.  

Anything to save on the interest rates.I'm not a pro, but do have a little more life experience, so educating yourself is critical. 

It's even more critical when you are using hard money.

Kensington and Harrowgate- I'm hesitant because of the crime factor, but man, if people are actually paying $400K+ to live on Frankford & Lehigh, these neighborhoods could be great long term plays with a low barrier to entry in today's market.I'm also planning on receiving criticism for essentially using leverage to buy leverage.

@Michael Hudson If you are talking about project management you need to identify the critical path parts of your project.

But that being said it's ok, I appreciate all CONSTRUCTIVE criticism I get and learn from it. 

I do not know New York laws - and it is critical to know your state real estate laws.