-Interview realtors to find a good one and then have them meet you at the property to give you an accurate assessment of potential sales price and fixes/upgrades needed to get you to that price. 

I know I'm not bound by Fair Housing Laws with only 1 property, but it's something I want to be conscious of as I develop my process both for this go around and in the future.

(which I like) so I would like someone with local experience rather than be the farthest flung property for a city-focused PM (if they'd even do it) and potentially become neglected or incur higher costs because of distance and/or unfamiliarity.A little help?

You'll want to make sure you understand the K1/tax filing implications because if you own very small piece of let's say 10 properties in 10 different states you would potentially receive 10 K1s (one for each deal) and 'may' have tax filing requirements in 10 states. 

For example, if you find a PM that uses a 600+ credit score minimum for the portfolio they manage and you want 700+ then you are allowing the PM to follow less strict guidelines and opening you home to greater risk.For the marketing side of things, I'd recommend using Zillow, Apartments.com, Redfin, and Facebook for potential word of mouth in your sphere.

No one plans for that, but potential reality in today's world if that is the case.I ran the numbers and then had a nice guru run the numbers of 401k vs cash money and the net outcome was about the same from what I remember. 

Portfolio loans tend to have increased fees and interest rates along with a partial release clause that could potentially restrict you from selling one of the properties included in the package. 

This was the sad part as they made the assets look so scarce and promised that investors could sell back tokens to them at anytime in the future. 

I think it should definitely be done prior to the tenant moving in though to avoid a potentially problematic situation.

EDUCATE YOURSELF - yes, it will take time, but will lead to a selection that better meets your expectations & avoids potentially costly surprises!