(Romanazzi & Associates CPA) I live about 3 hours away but have no problem communicating via email/phone.

I'm sure you'll be fine, but being proactive and over communicating is the way to go.

I need someone who will provide pictures of the necessary repairs, progress on work completed, and who is good at communicating via email and/or a messaging service such as WhatsApp or Signal.

Keys to our success can be broken down into one word: communication.... but obviously gets much more detailed than that.Looking for feedback from out of state investors in this situation.

All communication should be in writing, very short, no emotions.

This can open up lines of communication a bit.

The only thing that isnt 5-stars is their communication...its not great. 

Some examples:Using a home office for communications with my property manager, agent, etc.Attending a real estate conference or trainingI've been reading on various forums that REI at this level (just owning a few properties on the side but having a W-2 job) is considered an investment and not a business, so the types of deductions mentioned above wouldn't apply.

In my office, we require the tenant to at least pay something every week just so we know they are staying in communication and making an effort.

Rules depend on speaker and audience, medium of the communications channel, and type of relationship between.