@Howard ThomasMake sure to hire a qualified inspector to make sure the foundation, electric (not knob and tube), roof, and plumbing is in good condition.

Once you narrow down your preferred markets for purchase, hire a knowledgeable realtor who understands the STR regulations and the "sweet spot" of each market. 

Is it possible to "hire/rent" somebody's brokerage license to that they could be my broker-of-record but I can go ahead and build my PM company as I see fit?

Get a solid track record of generating leads YOURSELF till you know through and through how, and why it worksThen test, scale tweak improve it.Now you know your system is solid, you turn it into a system by writing EVERY step of the procedure on paper and test it againNow you can hire an employee and have them do that task, Teach them, make them understand the hows and whys and supervise them, alwaysThis is what you need to do.

The company my landlord hired ended up taking down the ceiling in the 2nd bedroom, and that was the last I've seen of them.  

Having you sign the Buyer's Rep Agreement is how we trade.  

Try to line them up soon so hopefully you can be in the hiring process in the next few weeks.

If Portland contractors are too expensive, could you hire a contractor from a rural town or Idaho or other area to come out and do the work?

In both of those cases if you’ve never done it sometimes it’s just easier to ask the secretary or whoever you talk to and ask who does a lot of them and hire them to do the application for you.

Hiring a bookkeeper was a game-changer for us and I highly recommend it to other investors who don't have one.