When you are new to the game, agents, wholesalers, other investors, and even you can push you around.

Keeping everyone aligned—lenders, inspectors, attorneys—prevents bottlenecks that could derail the timeline.Lastly, tackling big tasks early (like ordering inspections or raising equity) is a game-changer.

The rental game is funny in that you want to responsible enough to always make rent, but not successful enough to easily afford buying a house.

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

My experience has been that purchase transactions where the buyer has no or little skin on the game have a default rate many times that of buyers who place a significant down payment into the deal.  

Yes, the more units you go up, generally the less players in the game so there is some advantage in purchase competition as you go up, but also more management scale and cap ex for someone who is new.3.

What tools or strategies are you using to stay ahead of the game?

I've found conflicting information online.

If they are available online or in person.

There's also free services for tenants to pay their rent online which include some light accounting features.