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. 

Not sure if you have such thing as rent controls, but if you do, check this town for rent controls.

Biggest thing that rookies forget is expenses & repairs, stuff comes up, dont spend the money!

I don't know how much commission is involved but you may want to refer them to a local agent instead of spending a whole day plus gas for a lease, unless the commission is worth it. 5.

Spend plenty of time reading books/articles, listening to podcasts, learning from more experienced investors before you dive in.

Florida has Lehigh Acres and Coral Gables and other famous areas.The subdivision map act was created to bring organization and control to these massive development that never got built and were just platted.. anything on the west that is 5 lot split or more is subject to the map act.. 

Homeowner retirees who can get on the list of trusted house sitters find a world of travel on a shoestring budget (if that's something they want to do):http://retireearlylifestyle.com/aaa/house_sitting_page.htmSome traveling retirees don't like the idea of moving their furniture back and forth from storage if they want to rent out their home while they spend part of the year living in another part of the country (snowbirds, sunbirds):https://www.nytimes.com/2014/12/20/your-money/selling-the-family-home-is-liberating-for-many-retirees.htmlCombining these two ideas, perhaps you can find a trusted house sitter to live in your Lake Oswego home while you're living in Las Vegas.

And financially we could all spend less.