Here's a list of things to track:- Formal lease application- Formal signed and executed lease specific to your state- Payment history (I recommend using online rent collection like Apartments.com, RentRedi, etc)- Maintenance requests and receipts- Accounting for all rental-related expenses (repairs, utilities, etc) The more you treat it like a business, the more helpful you are to your CPA come tax time. 

Go to Etsy and search for "rental property tracker," and you will find hundreds of nice spreadsheets to track 10-20 rentals, usually for under $10.Software has extremely helpful features like online payments, marketing syndication (click a button, and your property is advertised on multiple sites), electronic document review/signing, maintenance tracking, and owner reports.

Quote from @Diana Teng: Hi all,I think my question above is pretty direct.I'm interested to buy my first rental property, and after doing a brief search I see that there are quite a number of places out-of-state (I live in NY state)  that offer affordable homes that deem to be in hot market areas right now (according to many different articles online). 

Also just look online and steal some ideas...I used to Google Luxury Kitchens and then figure out how to do the same for less $$.You'll be fine with your experience.

You can also check their reviews online at Google, Facebook, or Yelp.

When researching online, it looks there are some instances where non-vets can assume VA loans, but the veteran's entitlement would remain tied to the loan.How common is this and are there ever situations when this a win-win for both sides?

Just curious do you find that accessing county records online through the county clerk website works just as well as going in person?

If you own several apartment buildings your best interest might be to speak with a asset protection attorney versus asking questions online of just anyone who might respond.Good Luck!

You can also find various contracts online, develop your own then have an attorney review it to ensure it has teeth, and is legal in your area.7.

This is the max that Sec8 will pay for any property and is the information that you can find online.