My (meanest, but) best tenant is not particularly sophisticated, but has rent scheduled as a recurring auto-payment, God bless her.

Taking the first few months to adjust and get a strong handle on what your monthly expenses will be, then utilizing a budgeting tool like mint.com or ynab.com will save you a ton of anxiety down the line.  

The main thing I am taking away from everybody so far is that the repairs I am doing now are not unreasonalble for future considerations (which relieves some anxiety) and that I need to consult with my electrician before doing any modifications to the systmen - regardless of good intentions!

So far I have not had any recuring problems with this approach.If you have ever used a wood preservative product that was green, it is because of the copper content.

I’ve noticed a recurring theme with starting out is just making connections.

What's the best way to automatically debit a tenants rent and have that recurring monthly?

These are things that I did that helped me ease my anxiety and got me ready to start:- Visit as many properties as possible to get comfortable with them and understanding what is on the market and what you could look for.

I’d maybe get a second est just as a gut check, I usually get 2 estimates for things this size unless I’m working with someone I have an established/recurring relationship with and trust.  

Dwolla.com will let you do recurring payments and only charges $.25 per transaction.

You ain't buying a job here, that comes free.then take the remaining half, and deduct all taxes and municipal charges, any recurring payables. multiply by 10 at most.