Are there any legal requirements for a Landlord who lives out of the area to hire a local Property Manager? If you do not know, check and see.
Do you have any trustworthy friends or relatives who would be willing to help you out if repairs become necessary and/or you need to post legal notices, etc.? Do you have a trustworthy contractor to do necessary work at the house when necessary? Is there a local Landlord Associaiton that you can join for advice and information. Will you be able to locate an experienced Landlord Attorney to advise you about valid Lease terms/agreements and provide you with legal help when necessary?
Have you interviewed several Property Management companies and spoken with their clients to see whether they do the work that they promise in their contract? Will you have time to travel back to the property a few times a year to check on the property yourself until you become familiar with whether the Property Management company is doing the work they contract to do for you? Are you planning on finding your own Tenant(s) and just having the Property Management company provide the monthly management for you? That is what it sounds like from the amounts you quoted. From my experience the Property Management companies will also charge you a good portion of OR a full month's rent to find a Tenant for you... Did you ask about that, too?
Long distance rental is not something that I would suggest unless you have a way of traveling back and forth to the property, a trusted contractor that you can rely on and trusted, competant friends and family who live close to the property that are willing to help you out at a moments notice. Do not trust that a Property Manager will do anything but take your money and allow your home to deteriorate as they profit. Often times, a Property Manager will promise the moon but provide only the craters! I have learned this by experience. I'm not saying that there aren't good ones out there. I AM saying that you will have to pay close attention to be sure that all the "i"s are dotted and the "t"s are crossed until you KNOW that you are getting proper representation from your Property Management company. If you find a good one, you will have been blessed. You will be the one who is legally responsible and will get sued if Laws are broken.
To protect yourself, it will be necessary for you to be sure that you have an interest in learning the State Landlord Tenant Laws and any local (County/City) Laws, oversee the Property Manager's work and require in your contract that you have final say by written authorizaton re: all proposed Tenants, applications, income, credit reports, criminal reports, Lease Agreements, rental terms and Lease renewals. Be sure that you know what type of monthly and annual (year end final) reports will be provided by the Property Manager for your tax records and whether you will get complete and detailed receipts for your records when work is done at the property. Be sure that your contract requires that the Property Manager be required (without exception) to provide written and signed move-in and move-out inspections with complete video taped evidence to support the inspections provided. You should also keep your own copies of all paperwork completed, verifications received, reports run, ect. for all Tenants. This is EXTREMELY important in order for you to protect your property!
Of course, these comments are based on my own 12 years of experience as a Landlord. Landlording is not for the faint at heart. It can be very difficult and expensive. Unfortunately, you will become a student at the school of hard knocks from time to time. If you like to be the perpetual "good guy", you probably will not enjoy being a Landlord. You must be willing to deal with problems as they arise and hold people to the terms of your Lease Agreement in order to protect your investment.
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