I think you should also confirm to them what lease renewal terms you are offering them so they can make an informed decision.If you make the repairs, you'll create some goodwill with the tenant and they will be more likely to renew.

However, when I requested our EIN the letter stated, "Based on the information received from you or your representative, you must file the following forms by the dates shown.

Welcome to the community and be ready for a huge amount of information at your finger tips.

Quote from @Joshua Thompson: If it helps, I asked many clients this same thing and learned the clients who spend time each month updating books and records are the ones who spend less than 30 minutes preparing everything for us. 

Our lender has informed us that we need 12 months of rental history to use the actual rent for financing purposes, or we must rely on the appraiser's fair market short term rental value.

It would also be important to network with other investors, stay informed about regional market shifts, and leverage any available incentives to maximize my investment potential.Good luck!

Here are a few suggestions on how you can maximize the wealth of information available: Check out the blogs and podcasts, or take advantage of the search feature (magnifying glass).

I was trying to get started, had all the information but needed to pull the trigger to get in the game. 

Information like: Do you want to manage the property yourself, or do you want to pay a property management company to do that for you, is important to know because it will start to narrow your options.If you want to be more of an active investor, finding the deal yourself direct from a seller, doing some of the work yourself to fix it up, and then representing yourself to sell it on your own is probably the most active you can be and will give you the highest return in the shortest amount of time.

Either way it sounds like you have your information.