I got purchased first rental. How and where to I advertise to rent it? How do I run credit and background on applications when I get them?

You can advertise on Craigslist and Postlets. Postlets will run your ad on multiple rental listing sites for free. Take good pictures that show off your rental in the best light. Cozy.co has free landlord tools to help you with the application process. There are other websites that provide this service like EasyRent. These sites have the ability for applicants to purchase credit and background reports for the landlord to review. Read up on the tenant selection process to make sure you don't unwittingly violate any fair housing rules. Make sure you have a solid lease that is tailored to the laws of your state. I'm sure there will be a bunch of other advise coming. good luck!

Study this website inside and out and get your education first before you start to look for tenants.  Here is my one tip, start with month to month contracts so if you have to terminate the agreement you can do so with having to wait 6 or 12 months.

Good Luck

@Mark Shafer

Where do most people in your area find rentals? For example, Craigslist is super popular in many areas, useless in others. There are Facebook groups with thousands of members for different areas, for example.

Thanks for the help. I thought about craigslist but have heard a lot of horror stories. Does anyone have a good place to get a lease from? Or do I just need to find a lawyer to type one up?

Being the first rental, and to avoid anxiety and future RE investment growth I would seriously consider seeking the help of a listing agent to assist with the tenant location and application. They can help with listing, applications, screening etc all for one month's rent, but if that is pricey then start out with a good ol sign in the front yard and you will be amazed at the responses you get.

Craigslist is a good resource, although I am yet to use it myself.

All the best...

@Mark Hutchins - I like the month-month idea to start out.

@Mark Shafer

 Hi Mark, I recently listed my rental on Craigslist and the experience was fine.  I held an open house on a Tuesday evening for two hours, got 4 completed applications and had my tenants sign that weekend.  I got a great pair of tenants and it was relatively painless. You can purchase lease agreements on Legal Zoom or Nolo.  I'm sure there are other sites too. You could also consult with a local real estate attorney who is familiar with landlord tenant law in your area.  That would probably be pricier, but if you get a good lawyer, it would probably be a better lease.

Great posts here.   I found the secret to Craigslist is adding in a digital application link.  There are some free solutions for this here.  I use TC and works great, but have heard great things about many of them and you can even charge an application fee - so only serious applicants.  The secret is not to let people call you on the phone.  I learned the hard way

http://listoffreeware.com/list-of-best-free-online-property-management-software/