Managing first rental

[Stephen Anderson]

Just purchased my first single family rental. Any tips on how to manage it effectively without over complicating things?

Is a software such as RentRedi worth it? Or would it be best to keep it simple with my own spreadsheet (at least for the first couple of rentals)?

Would also appreciate any recommendations on how to screen tenants. I see a lot of tips and tricks on these forums but some seem to contradict one another.

...Thanks!