The prices were outrageous, and the quality of things like produce had really gone downhill.

I would highly recommend @River Sava over there, she's great. 

The money comes from the HOA dues, but if the company mismanages the funds or has high overage and people not paying, the money in the account is soft which will make it harder for lenders to lend there.

I am an investor from CA and I bought my first investment property in Columbus OH and the realtor I used to get the property recommended me a GC who came with very high recommendation.

Anything that's high priced luxury huge lot sizes, amazing landscaping, bigger garages, and HOA fees is probably A class. 

Employee Management: Given the absentee nature of the business, how do you ensure quality staff performance and customer service in your absence?

For next steps, I would highly recommend you get in contact with a hard money lender and get your lending in place so you can start making offers.

I currently own rental property in a high cost state, and I've never used a management company.

But then again BTC being a high vol asset, what does that look like if it goes up/down 20% when its time to convert?

Her idea at present is going to be to purchase the house herself (using traditional financing - high interest rate) and make the payment affordable for the family's rent to cover by arranging the sale well below market value and putting up a down payment of 30+ % of her own money, resulting in a PITI of ~1500.