That is standard smart practice.

On the back end we use commercial 7 year balloons, but you should use 30 year conventional products as long as you can (you are limited to 4 and then 6 more with tighter standards, so 10 total per SSN - in case your ar married you could 2x).

On a Standard 203k, there is no upfront money paid to contractors, except in rare circumstances with special delivery items.

From some brief research it seems like its a promising area but not sure the technology is there yet to match the ease of use of a standard toilet.

The process is just far less standardized and controlled relative to traditional transactions so you really have to pay attention to every detail and make sure everything is verified. 

To be clear, a recession could occur, home prices could fall, cap rates could increase (and multi-family prices fall), banks could tighten lending standards, etc, but right now, market participants are making rational decisions based on the information they have and cash flow can service debt without relying on rent appreciation. 

Follow Up Boss is good or your brokerage may also offer a CRM system that integrates internally (be sure, though, that you own the contacts, not the brokerage).  

Honestly, it is difficult for some international immigrants to move out of the Bay Area due to the conveniences that the location offers to them including international grocery stores and friends and family networks for cultural similarities. 

To help keep them on track and standardize things, I signed up for zInspector which is an inspection app.

This is before you take your standard depreciation deduction and since this a STR I'm assuming it's fully furnished.