Also open to Huntsville and Decatur occasionally.Need an extra hand?

Obviously if the difference between a standard LTR and a STR/MidTerm is that different, I would highly consider it, but I'd have to study up on all the extra variables of what an STR entails.

My main question is…i know i pay a deposit and we have an agreed upon term.

But with the array of services and fee structures current property management companies offer, it is entirely possible to pay an extremely low management fee and still be “fee-ed” to death as both an investor—and now even as a resident.Over the past 15 years, the amount of managers and fee structure variance in our industry has been incredible.

And if the right property is purchased you can recoup the money to pay back loan and any other start up costs to repeat the process.

I did a few and someone turned me in :) and sure enough I got a cease and desist and had to pay a fine and spend 20k creating what State of Oregon  calls a Real Estate paper offering !!.  

Do you pay the heating/cooling or do the tenants pay those utilities?

PM cannot make the tenant pay their rent but there should be a process on their side of what they are doing when the rent is not paid.   

Just like you would do with any non-family contractor working for you:- get them to complete Form W9 for you, as you will need their SSNs- have them provide receipts for materials/supplies and keep those receipts- have a written labor agreement (how much and for what) - pay for materials separately from labor- make all payments electronically rather than cash so you can trace them- pay out of your business account, not personal- issue them 1099s next year if you paid them $600 or more for labor (for the whole year, not per job): https://www.biggerpockets.com/forums/51/topics/1167632-expla... 

I pay for the insurance and we all split the bill 3 ways.