He underperformed against the market in 20-21 surprisingly, but those same bets paid off in 22 and currently. 

Now, I'm a turnkey guy myself so no one will be surprised with that answer ;)The long answer is that, while I am definitely a huge proponent of turnkey for both new investors and any investor that needs to look OOS (out of state), it's not the only option.

I'll double check.I'm not surprised by your experience with Republic Bank.

Our seller called in an absolute panic and had just been told that sometimes the excise tax surprises sellers.

The cost surprised me: $22k to bring it back up to USTA regulations.

I'm surprised at how egress entrances seem to be often ignored by house hackers. 

If the package room is too hard to find or too cumbersome to access - they won't use it.Given the presure Amazon delivery drivers and the others are under, no one should be surprised about this.Would recommend buying a package box, similar to a USPS mailbox (but bigger), and locating it a close as possible to where the delivery drivers "park" while they deliver.

Biggest surprises at properties you've managed?

I'll definitely take your advice and call some banks - try to limit the amount of surprises we'll face.

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