I converted my home to a rental a few years ago and I did not set up any special accounts- just a regular checking account.

To pick the right house, use sites like Zillow, Redfin, and Realtor.com, know what's going on in the local area, and look at loan options like regular bank loans or FHA loans.

If you provide seller financing, make sure you are a named insured on the insurance certificate like a regular bank. 

How it is different from a regular transaction? 

Since I vetted the tenants and regularly did property inspections we were okay with not having the extra protection of having it in an LLC.

There are plenty of other 'regular' neighborhoods that can still perform to your expectations and needs.

My understanding is that in Florida I do not need to hire licensed contractors to do regular routine maintenance (replace lamps, toilets, tiles, etc), is this true?

But it's still a bandaid and will pop out, crack, let water in, separate, and let the underlying wood rot almost as bad as regular bondo, after a few years.Napa, 3m, bondo, & Evercoat (marine), etc all sell polyester auto body fillers that are one step up from the prior with real "waterproof" claims etc, maybe priced around $30-50/quart or $75/gallon, range.

It helps you find reliableproperty management partnerships and gives you everything you need to makeconfident hiring decisions: Expert Matching: Match with professionals who meet your criteria Extra Assurance: Licenses, experience, ratings, reviews, and more that can be cross-checked with BiggerPockets members Bonus Content: Receive an essential interactive workbook: “How to Interview Property Management CompaniesHere’s how it works: Enter your market and what you're looking for Instantly see top matches and their qualifications Connect with only those you want to interview Bonus!

You could probably find a nice 10 unit apt building in Kalihi or Waianae for cheap but you'll need to hire security.There are whole lot new project anticipating moving into that direction, such as building higher/stronger seawall.Folks that visited regularly notice would notice there would be much more lava big rock stone allocated in front of the beach.