We need to move for personal reason and are trying to avoid selling and loosing the low rate as well as the cash flow.

I am also type of person who always thinks I know what I want and as I age realize things change - I say this because this would lead me not to want to buy a house now to rent to move in the future - I would look at it if it worked as a good rental and assume I would not live there and if I did later in life that’s bonus

To avoid going through the same poor experience, keep reading.Even if someone gives you a referral here, do NOT make the mistake of assuming that the PMC will meet your expectations, just because they met the expectations of the referral source.In our experience, the #1 mistake owners make when selecting a Property Management Company (PMC) is ASSUMING instead of CONFIRMING.It's often a case of not doing enough research, as they don't know what they don't know!

Bidding is at in person auctions at the county courthouse. 

As a local, you could just keep our sleepy gold mine off the front page that would be great haha.

Also, before you guys spend a lot of time and money working through a partnership to be used on several deals, it may be worth finding a deal to do together, keep it simple, and see how you guys like to work together.

Just make sure your LTR tenants keep their units nice, so your STR units' market well.  

I would say if you are trying to turn around a property, or keep it in a certain class (A or B) targeting cops or firefighters or teachers could be a good strategy.   

Also keep in mind, YOU have a witness because you were showing the property to someone you likely did not know.

You got bad advice from your prior accountant.You received rental income and it should have been reported.it seems like maybe he was lazy and/or doesn't understand rental concepts.The only exception is if he is paying 'under-market' for rent in which case the property would be considered personal use.I would fix the issue and charge him market rent.