What Dave Ramsey calls a "baby emergency fund" of $1000 goes a long way toward making a sudden breakdown from an emergency into a minor annoyance.I would expect a professionally managed apartment complex to be sticklers for getting the rent. 

I broke some of my own personal/professional rules, that is one of the reason that I'm in this predicament.

Do a search on NARPM.org, if they have PM's in your area they will likely be the most educated and professional PM's

Find a professionally listed place that looks great in your market. 

Growing and developing my professional vision while helping others reach their goals is how I'd like my story to read in the end.

If you were to jump off the deep end it would be less stressful to put it in the hands of a professional and you can bypass the learning experience.The second issues is money - it typically takes a LOT more money to buy a larger complex. 

Also, professionals do not always agree on the best way to calculate the ultimate return on real estate.

I've hired a PM because I don't know all of the laws, don't want to deal with the details, and trusted a professional to do a professional job.

Professional liability, general liability, anything else? 

You might have different options if property was held in an LLC and the transactions were real bank transactions to your LLC account, but even then, its a wash since LLC is pass through to personal and you would be recording both an expense and an income resulting in no benefit(not a tax professional. just opinion.)source:https://pocketsense.com/can-declare-rental-properties-primary-residences-8116.html