There's some mis-information and mis-understanding of AP, the process and it's effect in this thread.

Because the payment is coming from the tenant, and not the surety bond provider, claims are always processed without a fight.If you are interested in considering a surety bond program, I recommend Obligo.

I enjoy finding creative ways to monetize normally overlooked spaces at my rental properties. 

I like the potential of AI to streamline our real estate investment processes.

I am admittedly a newb in the process of getting all of this set up for my first rental (so correct me if I'm wrong) as well but I have some IL-specific perspective to offer: From what I have read, as of 1 Jan 2024 in IL, landlords cannot exclusively accept EFT payment of rents (includes Venmo, Zelle, etc.) for leases starting on or after that date.

The process and management will take you 1-5 youtube videos to learn about. 

I'm moving to San Diego next year from Denver, CO and am looking to make the right personal finance decision in the process. 

Additionally, don’t overlook the opportunity cost of pulling money from your 401k—those funds could have been compounding in the market.I’d also suggest stress testing your ROI by running scenarios with higher expenses or lower rents to see how resilient the investment is.

I have actually been thinkin about cutting losses honestly, I am not sure this is the best investment I could have made as my first but worried about how much of a loss I would have to take.It is meant for S8 for sure, I would have a stringent application process, and give the neighborhood a C from my research.I invested there because it was the first deal that basically fell on my lap where the mentor works with agents that Seller Finance deals, it was only $3k down and had thought the proximity to St.Louis would be attractive to tenants also.I effed up on waiting to post for rent until after all repairs and the COO for sure.  

And some good ones I may have overlooked unintentionally.