A good way to gauge interest is to check Furnished Finder and Facebook housing groups for Austin to see how often listings are getting inquiries and what average rates look like.If your property is in a good location (near hospitals, downtown, or major employers), it could be a great time to make the switch.

Check with your lender to get an exact number of days.

Quote from @Donna Johnson: Any pros/cons for setting up rental property checking account with local bank vs. other national banks to receive income and make payments with my newly acquired out-of-state property? 

I don't personally care about checks anymore so that wasn't an important feature for me. 

(you can always check the bigger companies too and shop your rate).You want to make sure you have Loss of Rent coverage to continue to provide you the rental income from the renter if they had to move out, and always try to get a decent amount of liability coverage for if someone ever sued you (ie. your tenant, etc).  

Also, double-check title status, permitting needs, and resale comps before committing further.

I'd check to see if your friend has before and pictures? 

However, if you do want something more robust the most flexible option I've used is "Hemlane" you can check em out online, they are a paid service though, but as I said it is a more robust option than a zillow manager or something similar.

My question is this do you make prospective tenants fill out credit/employment/ criminal background checks first.

When should be the last check?