I am very dedicated and willing to put in endless effort to learn the ins and outs but this could expose me to unnecessary risk if I miss something.The problem with using an agent is that they will want 3% which feels like a large amount for a deal that I found and that I'm negotiating.

Platforms to use:Furnished Finder is a big one for corporate and traveling professionals (nurses, consultants, tech workers).Airbnb/VRBO can work too, but corporate folks usually prefer something more “stable” than nightly.

There are several reliable online platforms available for landlords to run comprehensive background checks and credit reports on prospective tenants.

Will I need to do a background check on another platform? 

🙌You’re totally right — tools like Qualtrics/SurveyMonkey and SEMrush/SpyFu are powerful, but I’ve mostly seen them used for marketing/consumer research rather than for real estate investing decisions.That’s what I keep bumping into: plenty of great general platforms, but nothing that brings together real estate–specific data points like:• Voucher demand or housing authority activity (for S8)• Days on market for rentals in a micro-neighborhood• Vacancy + “desirability” indicators (crime/schools)Out of curiosity — if there were a tool that gave you that kind of “plug in an address → get all the market intelligence” insight in one place, what data would be the most valuable for you personally?

It's what I use for my rental portfolio, and they've got a great platform / app.

The main drawback is limited track record—the sponsors started in 2019 and have less than 10 years of direct real estate experience, with backgrounds in non-RE fields prior.Based on this, my current criteria for sponsors I’d consider investing with are:Focus on 1–2 regionsFocus on one asset classHave 10+ years of direct real estate investing experiencePrimarily dedicated to running investments (vs. running podcasts/courses/events)Appropriate amount of capital raised / projects going on in a given year.My question to the community:Are these the right criteria to evaluate sponsors, or am I missing key factors?

What platforms or spreadsheets do you rely on for amortization, investor reporting, and cash reconciliation?

@Waruna Yapa, like @Shelli Behrens said, I'd recommend QuickBooks Online as your "master" accounting platform that compiles all data from all different sources.

Even just keeping records, scheduling tenants, or handling repairs from a dedicated space at home could let you deduct a portion of your home expenses.