But I use the same ones in their respective towns.

If you don't mind the neighborhoods and the tenant pool that rents in those areas, then you might be able to put off-market deals together - if you are in town and are able to "drive for dollars".

I'm an institutional investor but occasionally do small investments in Grand Rapids because it's my home town and gives me an excuse to go back there. 

There’s a deal in a small town (15k people) and the main reason for the town existing is a military base.

The previous owner’s washing machine hose broke while he was out of town.

And even in a town or city there can be big differences between locations that these utilities cannot detect.

All of Garrett Sutton's books are helpful to understand the running of the business.When I started investing from out of state, I asked other investors for referrals and visited with them when I was in town.

A lot of these southern beach & mountain towns have been supporting STR for 75+ years, long before Airbnb was a thing, so they’re very comfortable with it and it’s a built-in part of the community.A lot of Northern places are FREAKING OUT over STRs & STR regulations & they don’t seem to be very supportive of it.

This is my day job, and in my home town, and I have plenty of first-hand experience with your local judges; If your lease is correct, you can trust them not to reach a security deposit issue before it is ripe. 

When tenants did it, had neighbors complaining, neighbors reporting it to the town, town got after me, threatening fines, and I had to go to inspect.