It would be hard to build equity if there is a recession and property values decrease. 

I can tell you any PM company's key stats:* Average rent * Where they manage (heat map) * Average days on market/historical vacancy rate *Rent decrease rate (what % of their listings do they decrease rent -- AKA they aren't good at rental estimates)*What other properties they manage (contact actual clients and ask them for their feedback)*Google reviews, how many properties they manage, etc. etc.

Do not buy anywhere if the state or metro populations are static or decreasing.

However, rents and demand for single families in sun belt are growing considerably faster than apartments due to a 'the supply of former being smaller than the latter'- Midwest, on the other hand, had rising rental rates of 10% and 9% in Indianapolis and Kansas City respectively- Multifamily construction has slowed down considerably with an 18% decrease in permits for the same in November vis-a-vis OctoberUnsurprising that midwest is still going strong despite slowdowns across the country.

In addition, decreasing cap rates and increases in apartment values has created a surge of new operators to the space, so be careful to ask about experience when you schedule your first call with these groups.As you spend more time researching multifamily investments, you’ll find several other great benefits of investing in this space.

In regards to interest rates going up, housing prices slowly going down, and tourism slowly decreasing, what are some good “Plan B” tips that you would provide for a first time investor.

Dumb shinny things usually decrease in value over time.

For what it's worth, I am a depository mortgage banker and have seen a significant decrease in appetite from my firm for portfolio lending due to the risks of bank runs and additional scrutiny that has taken place since Silicon Valley and Signature failed. 

Is the increased fee a decrease in your expenses, may be worth it or not.

It will cause your cash low to decrease, less money in capital improvements etc etc.