Beginner's Guide to SF Renting

[Casey Mcgoff]

Just found out my best friend is sitting on a 5/4 SF home. Its newly renovated and sits on 9 acres. They have been paying the mortgage for two years and aren't making anything on the property. What a waste! (To their credit, they work full-time and know very little about Real Estate)

I only know what I've learned in the past month or so reading BP.

I thought it would be a great learning experience for me to help him find a renter and learn how to be a landlord so he can stop paying that mortgage and maybe even generate some cash flow.

Is there a conclusive guide on finding and managing tenants for beginners? Geared toward SF's? It seems like there are so many things to do:

Use a management company? Which utilities do they pay and which does the landlord pay? Does it matter how many people live in the house? Who are the best tenants? How to market the rental and find tenants? How to do a background check? Ask for references?

I'm not expecting answers to all of these questions, but if someone could point me in the direction of some starter resources or forums/threads that would be seriously appreciated.

Thanks BP!