Help me get this upcoming new year kicked off in the right direction. 

You will find a wealth of information and help here.To answer your question directly, repairs and CAPEX are separate things.

There is a plethora of vendors available who handle title, site visits, loss mitigation, legal/foreclosure, property preservation and property sales -- all can be directed via phone/email. 

Background: I house hacked a property located in Silver Spring, MD. I purchased the property three years ago (04/2014) for $289,000 with FHA loan and PMI in it. In 02/2016 I refinanced the loan to 15 years at 3.12500%...

All caulking edges exposed to view shall not vary more then 1/8” in any direction and shall be free of excessive lipping or inconsistencies.”  

Having said that I have very little direct experience with REI. 

Translation is: competent but cheap.I think the most common "ideal" attorney is someone who iscompetent in everything RE-relatedavailable 24/7, directly and not via staffprovides inexpensive as-needed servicesprovides free advice in between engagementsdelivers all commitments on time, including last-minute emergency requestsThis is not my personal list - it is an observation of what my clients seem to want.

If you're looking for the smaller (5-20) unit properties you can also try to do direct mail marketing but that won't work as well for the larger properties.

Oh, this is for direct mail marketing, tho feel free to share methods of tracking for other marketing methods.

Depending on which direction, which block, which section of town, and what micro-market you are talking about, that "$500/room" could be imaginary.