5-6 hours for six unit, plus all of the building systems is not a lot of time if you are looking for a thorough inspection.We had our inspector spend up to 8-hours on a 5-6 unit building - he's very thorough.

✓Second Home Requirements  must be occupied by the borrower for some portion of the year  is restricted to one-unit dwellings must be suitable for year-round occupancy the borrower must have exclusive control over the property  must not be rental property or a timeshare arrangement1 cannot be subject to any agreements that give a management firm control over the occupancy of the property

However, I would prefer to receive some compensation along the way as I am spending my free time working for them evenings and weekends. 

Just finished @Brandon Turner book on rental property investing and am working through @David Greene book on Long distance investing.I am looking at properties in OH due to spending about 1.5 months there in 2012.

You will pay payroll taxes, but you have more control over that.2) You do not want a "dealer" classification attached to you by the IRS. 

We are looking to spend a considerable amount to generate direct mail messaging that works in Columbus and Cincinnati.

Personally for me I like being in control of knowing how the process is going so I take the initiative and I drop it off at the title company I trust.

There is no rent control in our area.

I do not charge any more per month.M2M will allow you greater control over your tenants. 

If the tenants are stellar otherwise and you really want to keep them happy, you can offer a gift card to a restaurant in an amount of your liking, but don't let the tenants choices control your actions.