The serious investors who I actually work with come in and know their neighborhoods, have a bank letter ready, know the general financials, and have an idea of what kind of rehab they are capable of taking on.

Years ago I shipped off to basic while I had an apartment and I didn't even tell my landlord.

Surround yourself with the absolute best subject matter experts you can find while you captain the ship.  

Aside from providing the basics (ie. listing tool to get the property published to 10+ major sites, scheduling tool to schedule viewings, tenant screening with comprehensive applications -- pulled reports from TransUnion, which include nationwide criminal background checks + credit checks + eviction history, digital lease creation tool, rent collection tool, and maintenance tracking tool), some services also offer your tenants additional capabilities which makes it an easier sell on your end when getting them to transition over (ie. their ability to report on-time rent payments to the credit bureaus; this can create an added incentive for making sure they pay that rent on time).

So me and my fiancé have this idea of doing an FHA Loan for our first property while we do some small renovations, a home obviously good enough for the FHA but still capable of being upgraded here and there.

Hey everyone, Has anyone used shipping containers for a project??

Just curious what software do you guys think is the easiest to interface and has all in one capabilities. 

@Denis Woosley thanks, I can start with a Solid contractor first who is capable of giving good finish recommendations.

There are two components of management for you to consider: onsite and offsite management.As it relates to onsite management, the common and most generic strategy is to interview the existing tenants to find a capable, trustworthy, willing resident to be your manager.

@Kevin Romines already hit the nail on the head for your specific question, but in general: friends don't let friends use rocket ships to get mortgages.