First home will be with the VA loan so I have to homestead it and then after the first year I am refinancing then turn around and do it again for the 2nd home, but I wont have to wait another year because I will have the rental history at that time.

They have all be refinanced, with cash on top, and rents have grown to cover those costs.

.- Online retailers: Amazon and Wayfair are good for smaller items like hardware, as you've mentioned.

The loan consultant i met online referred me to this lender had a valid NMLS.

All of my real estate investor clients use Quickbooks online. 

In addition to RentRedi, there are many other similar online servicers you can choose from.

I am starting my journey as a Real Estate Investor and I am looking for any advice into what online tools do people use to find and filter each deal.Is there particular websites that are recommended to get additional information of a particular deal?

I'm still at the very beginning, so I'm learning more about the different kinds of loans out there, as well as refinancing after doing value adds.

I also don't want refinancing risk, so any deals with only 3 to 5 year debt are out for me.

You are refinancing it with a new loan that will be 70% to 75% of the appraised value, and that’s the key to making it work the way it does.Please note that the ~$6,000 out-of-pocket is an average.