Almost nobody knows the comps for their cell service, their car insurance, or their health care insurance.2) make sure they are on MTM or when their lease expires, until there’s nothing you can do. 3) find out the local/state requirement for notice to increase rent, maybe go even farther out to avoid a winter vacancy  4) be financially prepared for the tenant to move out and spending thousands to make it ready for the next tenant while it’s vacant for a month or two (especially in the middle of the winter.)5) be absolutely confident that you’re right about market ent so you don’t spend thousands lose rent to vacancy and possibly get a lower quality tenant to make an extra couple hundred per month.

I think technology and the burgeoning consolidation in the PM industry will cause there to be a major raise of the baseline standard of quality service a PM will need to provide.

I'd recommend dropping the sites that send you a lot of low quality leads that take too much time to make it worth it.

Investors who took the leap of faith - attracted by the tax savings - found themselves in markets that were not economically increasing thereby impacting appreciation, rent price demand, and tenant quality. 

Secondly, perhaps consider partnering with another investor if you find a quality opportunity.  

@Mike Schorah I've been self-managing my properties for a lot longer than 4 years...but, my properties are mostly A and B class, with pretty high-quality tenants--and of course, that exponentially lowers the workload, and makes my life much easier... 

Are their listings detailed with good quality photos?

It depends on your financial strength, the quality of the property, how many properties you own, etc.I like to start with one major expense and three months of vacancy.

Having a VA loan will be a big win but as Hamp mentioned you want to know your exit strategy so if the current Multi Family market is not good SFH's are always a quality option and understanding the areas and the appreciating neighborhoods you can put yourself in a quality position.In terms of quality of the house definitely play it a bit safe to start especially since you will need to live in the property.

Recommended replacement of water line to the house -water damage found in part of the ceiling with thermal imaging -windows lower quality old single panel, recommended budget for replacement in near future and quite a few more smaller issues.