I think I’ve watched enough podcast on real estate videos to have a good understanding of what I’m doing.

I am also eager to connect with experienced professionals in the field, absorb their insights and build lasting relationships that contribute to mutual growth.

I understand it is going to be a higher stress situation as the thought of losing your home can be overwhelming but I could see myself taking an opportunity of someone buying my house over losing it to the bank. 

I benefit from their ignorance (my rents will increase ~$50k this year), but would prefer that they had a better understanding of consequences.  

Might be worthwhile to understand what you'll be asking of a PM (which you already seem to have a handle on) before you hire them. 

Given my limited experience and understanding in this field, it's challenging for me to judge whether a real estate agent is suitable for my investment purposes.

Before trying to wholesale you have to understand what makes a property a good deal for an investor.

The upstairs tenant gets very mad about this, and I can understand that, as he works first shift, 12-hour days, and is being woken up in the middle of the night by the noise.

After gaining experience via house hacking then you may start feeling more comfortable taking on greater risk for investing out of state because now you have a better understanding of what it takes to do it but this time without you living there.

They are typically neighborhood locals who just understand the neighborhood and have a close pulse on what’s going on.