Am I crazy to self-manage from afar?

[Charles Kennedy]

I am under contract on a quadplex near a university that is 4 hour drive from me. After speaking with some property managers, I'm realizing they really know how to tack on the fees... 10% (expected) of all revenues, 1/2 months rent for first lease, $400-500 for new leases thereafter (which most will be), $200 for renewals, $500/unit cancellation fee, no late fees passed along to me owner, some have $50/unit vacant fee! It just seems like this may add up to be 15-20% of revenues.

This has me thinking how hard can it be to self manage? I will be down there for closing to do some basic work and then back down there once the contractor completes the rehab we are doing, at which point I could take pictures and list the property on postlets. I could create a FAQ sheet for potential tenants. I could compensate my agent to show the property. I have spoken with nearly a dozen handyman and contractors regarding the rehab and one I liked said he would be happy to do any repairs on the property (wasn't a good fit for the rehab). 

I could have my handyman perform basic repairs, deal with any onsite issues and compensate him accordingly. I can collect/screen tenants via Cozy.co. I would still visit the property 2-3 times a year as my alma mater plays this team once a year and it's not THAT far. I could create/provide a move-in checklist, move-out inspection that handyman could deliver and perform the move-out inspection and perform need repairs as well. I could provide a move-in document that would have tenants e-mail me for non-emergencies and phone # for more urgent matters.

On top of it all, I figure I can always just hire a PM at if this isn't as easy as I think it is... 

Am I crazy for trying to do this? PM fees seem like they will be adding up to $7500+ a year ($5,400 in % fee and another $2000 in new lease fees), which doesn't seem justifiable to me...

[Russell Brazil]

I self managed a property in Boston, while Im in DC for about 4 years. It was doable, but honest it was kind of a pain.  DC to Boston has flights every hour out of 3 different airports for pretty cheap, so I was able to get there fairly easily, but I didnt have to go there unexpectedly about twice a year to deal with crap. In retrospect, I would have just hired a PM.