As far as the building goes:
Visit the place OFTEN. Don't go more than a day or two without stopping by. Most companies are pretty good builders, though I've never heard of that particular builder. Talk to the people you know who used them and find out what came up during their build. Don't talk to the individual contractors about things. Go through the superintendent running the job. Most of the sub-contractors won't make any changes unless it comes from the super anyway (at least we don't). Most builders will do a walk-through with the buyers before insulation and sheetrock go in. If they don't, DEMAND it. This is your best (last) opportunity to get things right before it becomes a major pain in the ***. This is when you'll double check all the electrical (outlet locations, switch locations, lighting), plumbing, HVAC, and framing is where you want it. After sheetrock, things become more complicated.
Another piece of advice I would give is that if you think you want something but aren't sure you can afford it, DO IT. There are a lot of things we wanted to do but didn't because we were worried about the price. Now we both wish we would have done them. We should have gone with a jetted tub and a bigger deck, but wanted to save the couple hundred bucks. We kick ourselves about it now.
As for the renting:
If you can make money using the property manager, use them. They take care of everything as far as maintenance goes, plus they probably have better leads into getting renters in. All you do is get your check. But you may want to try it without one to save the money. You can always sign up with one later if you want.
Take this advice with a grain of salt. I've never owned a rental property, but I did stay in a Holiday Inn Express last night.
