@Season Price Usually, when we are searching for lenders, title companies, plumbers, etc. it's best to ask other investors in your market who they use.

How convenient is it for students or young professionals?

The work I do is for a waterslide company and they don’t report anything, and I cut grass as well while being a full time college student.

@Ash BisariaRecommend 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.

Situations like this is exactly why I love having a good PM company in my arena.

Assuming you get a management company to look after the properties (since i would be out-of-state investing).

The local investors say there are a few more insurance companies in the State than a year ago.  

I think you are assuming these people are professional lol, because not all loan officers are.  

A fairly common way that self-managing landlords handle this is to create a company that provides services to your properties.

I would definitely have these conversations with your financial professionals.