Personally I use RentRedi (free with BP Pro) for management and Zillow for applications and screening.

I personally do have experience with renovations, and being a landlord and have done a few flips some went well and some did not and I have learned some valuable lessons along the way.

Explore my personal favorites, Set For Life by Scott Trench or The Total Money Makeover by Dave Ramsey, for invaluable financial insights.3.

Also, what others have said, the personal touches on what is in your place (e.g. providing all the essentials instead of having people buy TP, coffee, shampoo, etc.) and the quality of those items (no tattered towels, stained sheets, etc.).  

Basically all rentals, even ones owned under LLC, come up during loan DD as long as you file them under one tax return as personal, that was what happened to me earlier.  

Hire an inspector /independent person to manage the job site for you, someone with your best interest at heart.

Depends on the person, but as a professional real estate investor it would be a no brainer for me.

Personally I do not like providing appliances for tenants as the repairs and headaches start adding up.

I have personally witnessed the success of this approach.

I will return to this situation in the end of this post, but first let me show you why the age of a person can be tricky when it comes to the IRS.