Setting Up Initial Systems: First Rental from Primary Residence

[Conner Hitchcock]

Hey all,

After some thought and help from previous posts, I have decided to begin taking some steps to turn my primary residence into a rental. It's a nice townhome in Northern VA, that I know is fairly in demand, especially with the surrounding growth and DC being so near. As I am in the process of moving out and renovation to be "rent ready", I would love to know the most important systems and order of operations to focus on from your perspective.

Once I'm ready to go, having a thorough tenant screening process, having a clear form of lease agreement ready to go, and solid understanding of Virginia housing laws is a must.  Out side of "the bare minimum" what would you suggest I invest in learning?  i.e. landlord softwares, communication templates or business numbers, templates for marking expenses and profits, etc.

I plan on growing and expanding.  I want to set myself up with a solid structure so when the time comes, I can act fast, scale fast, and be the most optimal landlord, whether it be for 1 tenant or 1000 tenants.

I appreciate the time and I look forward to seeing what ya'll think.

Conner Hitchcock