My timeline for turning over vacancies is strictly four weeks, which is the maximum acceptable period between a tenant moving out and the arrival of a suitable new tenant.

Then, you can calculate how much cash this property(ies) is going to eat over the period you plan to hold it and see if what you can sell it for (less commissions, taxes, etc) will produce a profit.

Also, there have been several hosts that have come over from airbnb during that period.

Thus allowing you to set automatic late fees in case the tenants doesn't pay before the end of grace period. 

@Katie Balatbat is there a minimum time period before the TIC needs to be created? 

Keep in mind that there may be legit charges associated with termination- for instance, they may need to hold some funds in escrow to cover lingering utility bills or cleaning after that 30 day period. 

You forget that he’s going to be out of country for substantial periods of time.

Either define a set period of time that you will serve as a manager for no cost and then collect xx% of revenue as a management fee before splitting profits.

(Even if it feels like overkill now, the plan is to do a "lite version" of the system and build out later).Anyway, My question (for the crew here) is really  more about actual workflow.... i have my tools chosen, but despite what they all promise (efficiency) I feel like I'll be bounching from "use this to acquire a tenant", "use this to vet / quality / sign a tenant", "use this to communicate with a tenant"... 

You can do as little as 0% down and maybe even get money back at closing if you can implement seller credits into your offer during the inspection period or prior to going in contract.