I think at this point I may choose to live in the unit that needs the most work first unless there is a huge difference in quality of tenant.

@Ian I LeinwandIf you wish to find a tax expert who specializes in real estate, the expertise, knowledge and the quality of service would be far more important than location.

Quality tenants usually dont get 28 days, with that being said, a bad tenant getting a 28 day may have an issue finding a unit in 28 days. 

Since I am in the foreign service I am looking for recommendations for a quality property management company.

Cleaning is not in the 20% property management fee, it is extra, and you may well have to pay more then 20% for quality management company. 

Successful landlords and management companies know the law better than the tenants do.Equally important is the quality of your rental agreement and how well you monitor and enforce the terms.

They work with the same crews and have better control of quality and labor costs. 

It seems like the DOM for quality flips in the area is low.

Saturday is the big day to do Open Houses to get an idea of the quality you are looking at since most of the houses are over 100 years old and some have had more extensive rehab then others. 

You can easily hit the 1% rule here and expect quality tenants.