Apologies for the basic question, but I haven't been able to find a clear answer online.

I have to pay a monthly fee even if I don't do any tenant screening, but the platform also allows me to collect rent online and I don't believe they actually hold the money, unlike some other companies that have held, (and lost!)

There are online sites for landlords (such as BiggerPockets) and online sites for renters (Google "apartment ratings" and pretend you are a renter looking for a place to live).

Leasing was getting run off a bad website and Google Ad words and not through other online sites.This just underscores the importance of organization and clear record keeping in buy and hold real estate.

Go hunting - but not where most people look (online), best of luck.

There are thousands of posts on BP, almost every day, and keeping advertisements, deal-making and fights clear from the forums is not an easy task; if threads weren't moderated the forums would quickly become virtually unusable and unattractive to the majority of people here that are just trying to learn more about real estate investing. 

Since last year I've participated in 5+ auctions- a mix between live and online and been successful at two of them (two liens, one deed). 

I see at least three major risks with private lending on a first lien.

Buying a personal home is a liability and in the majority of cases a SFH is a very poor investment as a rental income property.

In my area the majority of agents are part time, only a relatively small minority are doing it to earn their primary living.