If you’re out of state or out of town obviously you must get some sort of boots on the ground on some level to handle certain details.

in regards averages within the area and level of activity  (Occupancy vs Vacancy)?

This was especially true in 2020 and the decrease in available inventory exacerbated the low supply levels.

We have had some very wet weather here and I have discovered a bit of water on the 3rd floor unit sheetrock, and some water at the wall level (same spot on the building) of the 1st floor unit resulting in some damp sheetrock.

This is an example of why you need reserves before buying a rental property.  On Sept. 3rd, a drunk driver plowed through my single-family rental in Independence, MO.  The link to the news clip is below.  The news got...

On a personal level, I think the easiest way to start is by House Hacking so you live for free and that opens up some cash to get started on your second property. 

We try to ensure the salt is applied enough to keep down dangerous/slippery ice and to keep the snow melted, but we don't want to go overkill having a "zero tolerance" ice policy like hospitals have, we just want to keep snow and ice down to an acceptable and safe level, without going over-budget.For some of our buildings where salt seems to be really deteriorating surfaces (mainly building sidewalks and masonry stairs) we thought about using a different product (either calcium chloride or magnesium chloride) however while they are less damaging than pure salt, they are also more expensive (something we are trying to avoid).What do you other landlords do that have midsize (10+ unit) buildings? 

Its anywhere from $400-1200 depending on the level of the inspection you get. 

I understand this is personal comfort/risk appetite levels, but I'd like to hear how other smaller investors getting into the REI landlord arena think about this aspect. 

I've never done air bnb , I don't really know if this property would make a good one, I don't really know what the numbers would look like, I need to know what level to renovate to, etc.