We're in Michigan, but NOT on the west coast of Michigan.

We still have a few "useful" thoughts:

Realtor: it's really tough to find a TRUE "investor-friendly" agent as most are just commission-friendly. Finding an agent that has investment properties and so understands ROI, Cash-on-Cash, RTP Ratio, etc. is difficult.

Attorney: Michigan counties issue tax deeds, which are NOT warranty deeds, so title companies will not accept them. You have two options to fully clear a tax deed:
1) Quiet Title Case: hire an experienced real estate attorney to start court case to clear title.
2) Tax Foreclosure Case Review: we have title companies that will file FOIA requests with the county to get copies of everything they did to advertise the tax foreclosure. After the title company's attorney reviews the docs, they often will insure over the tax deed.

Cash-for-Keys: it's not market specific, it's usually occupant specific.
Previous Owners: the most difficult to remove because they have a huge emotional attachment to the property. So, they often ask for crazy amounts.

Tenants: may be easy to get to accept, depending on how long the property has been their home. The longer they've been in it, the harder it is to get them to accept.

Squatters: Vacant properties may attract squatters who illegally occupy properties. They MUST break-in to occupy and often the owner or someone gave them access, so they are legally not a squatter.

Other thoughts for Cash-for-Keys:

1) NEVER give any funds upfront! We send the funds to our attorney and require the occupant to leave the property broom-clean and once we verify that, we send them to attorney to sign Hold Harmless and collect a check.
2) Start the eviction process, so there's a deadline! Otherwise, the occupant will often just drag out the process so they can stay as long as possible.

In general, you may want to start your search for help by interviewing property management companies. You will need a great one anyways, so why not start with them?

Once you find a great one, they can probably refer you to agents, attorneys, etc.

Here's some copy & paste advice on finding a great PMC:

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We’re a Property Management Company (PMC) in Metro Detroit ONLY, with 25+ years of experience, and we’ve seen owners make the same mistakes, over & over again when looking to hire a PMC – which drives us nuts!.

In our experience, the #1 mistake owners make is ASSUMING all PMCs offer the exact SAME SERVICES and PERFORM those services EXACTLY THE SAME WAY.

So, owners mistakenly think price is the only differentiator – and look for a PMC like they’d shop for groceries☹

We encourage you to learn from the mistakes of others by reading posts here on BiggerPockets from owners that picked a PMC solely by price and regretted it.

We recommend exploring as many sources as possible to get referrals AND cross-reference them to get as much accurate information as possible.

Check out NARPM.com, BP’s Property Manager Finder (BiggerPockets: The Real Estate Investing Social Network), etc.

Even if someone gives you a referral, do NOT make the mistake of assuming that just because a PMC met their expectations, they’ll meet your expectations. We all have our own expectations and what works for someone else, may not work for you.

If you’re new to all of this, it's often a case of not doing enough research, as you don't know what you don't know!

So, ask more questions!

EXAMPLE: PMC states they will handle tenant screening – what does that specifically mean? What documents do they require, what credit scores do they allow, how do they verify previous rental history, etc.? You’d be shocked by how little actual screening many PMC’s do!

This also leads owners to ASSUME simpler is better when it comes to management contracts.

The reality is the opposite - if it's not in writing then the PMC doesn't have to provide the service or can charge extra for it!

A well written management contract should clearly spell out what is expected of both the PMC and the owner, to PROTECT both and avoid misunderstandings. Why do you think purchase contracts are so long and have such small print?

We recommend you get management contracts from several PMCs and compare the services they cover and, more importantly, what they each DO NOT cover.

EDUCATE YOURSELF - yes, it will take time, but will lead to a selection that better meets your expectations & avoids potentially costly surprises!

P.S. If you just hire the cheapest or first PMC you speak with and it turns into a bad experience, please don’t assume ALL PMC’s are bad and start trashing PMC’s in general. Take ownership of your mistake and learn to do the proper due diligence recommended above😊

Here’s some articles we’ve contributed to BiggerPockets about screening a PMC BETTER than you would a tenant!

20 Questions to Ask When Vetting a Property Management Company: Processes

13 Questions to Ask to a PMC: Communication and Documentation

24 Questions to Ask When Evaluating a Property Management Contract