I would ask them what they are prepared to pay for exclusivity, I would think you'd get some kind of upfront payment and the operator would get ongoing compensation from the contract.

This is an ongoing question1.  

But it was still a daily, ongoing job to empty the boxes and fill the change machines.

if your living in it your expenses should not be anywhere near 50% in reality.. unless you damage your own apartment or don't pay your rent to your self  :)  run the numbers with just tax's and insurance and mortgage payments.. do your own PM and then maybe another 10% for on going maintenance that should be about right.

10% of collected rent is for ongoing management (handling tenant calls, doing the bookkeeping and sending of mthly statements, arranging for maintenance and upkeep of property, posting pay-or-quit notes, initiating evictions, dealing with the municipality on inspections, etc.).The "entire first month rent" is for placing a new tenant (marketing, screening, showing, lease execution, move-in walkthrough, etc.).So you have both types of fees.

This looks like it has been an ongoing problem. 

Sell and do a 1031 exchange for an apartment building or similar multifamily property both to provide for our daughter and generate an ongoing return?

This is an ongoing struggle for agents and investors alike.

I was planning on going into finance due to the higher starting salary and the assist in real estate.

@Jerrod Mink  I'm not going to say you will have success with our without the tools, I will say that like @John Underwood says, those tools, while certainly valuable in my opinion for deal analysis and due diligence are hard to trust from a set it and forget ongoing pricing standpoint.