It helps you build the habit to make it something natural.Good luck!!!

I figure the county assessors office may be a good group to get into good graces with so I have made it a habit to reach out whenever I have questions. 

Don't do anything that will in the end cost you more money and place you in harms way.  

Additionally, I did already explain that if she actually leaves the unit clean and habitable, she should be given the deposit back, but only after she can show the deposit was first given.As for the "it's only $300" talk, who cares how much it is.

I’m new to this community, and I know there’s plenty of other people hearing all the buzz and wanting help getting started, but what harm could come from one more?

But if you're just looking for practice, there's definitely no harm in looking in other towns and analyzing deals there.

Living beneath your means will eventually become habit.

We don’t know any PMCs to recommend in the area mentioned, but since selecting the wrong PMC is usually more harmful than selecting a bad tenant, you might want to read our series about “How to Screen a PMC Better than a Tenant”:https://www.biggerpockets.com/member-blogs/3094/91877-how-to-screen-a-pmc-better-than-a-tenant-part-1-services-and-processesWe recommend you get management contracts from several PMCs and compare the services they cover and, more importantly, what they each DO NOT cover.

But keep in mind that when purchasing a property with FHA loan requires an FHA inspector to come inspect the property to ensure its habitable.

By being formally trained and educated in the space, agents understand the nuisances of theses practices and know how to successfully execute to qualify the tenants without causing any harm to their landlord client.