Renting out a Condo (need advice)

[Emmett Hawkins]

I had the opportunity to pickup a condo in the area for a good price. The owner is moving to a retirement home and did not want to bother with listing her property. My Brother-in-Law told her I would be interested in buying it from her. Once I was able to confirm that the HOA would allow me to rent it, i locked it in.

I have a couple other SF Homes that I rent to a single tenant or family.  This unit is a nice 3 bedroom 2 bath unit that is pretty spacious for this part of Atlanta.  I had heard some the of the bigger pockets podcasts about renting by the room and thought this may be a good property to try that on.  

Here are some of my questions for rent by the room:

How long of a lease is ideal per room?

Do I need to furnish the common areas, or let the tenants bring their own stuff?  If so, how to a pick furnishing that wont get trashed by renters?  

Should I keep the utilities and bill the tenants or have one of the tenants have the utilities in their name and collect from the other tenants?

Where is the best place to find tenants?

What should I look out for when screening tenants to minimize drama?

Thanks in advance for your advice...