Also, look to see if there are numerous rentals in the area on the market.

As such, I have spent the past year getting my credit together -- 100+ points boost in the last 2 months and currently in the "good" credit category, finally -- and feel that in a month or two, I'll be in an even better position to invest in real estate. 

Here are some recommendations for you:Find and connect with other BP members that are in your area: http://www.biggerpockets.com/meetSet up keyword alerts to be notified of the topics that interest you: http://www.biggerpockets.com/alertsRead Beginner’s Guide: http://www.biggerpockets.com/real-estate-investingCheck out BP Podcasts: http://www.biggerpockets.com/renewsblog/category/podcast/If you wish to tag someone in the conversation on the forum, type @ followed by their name and then select the name of that person which should appear below the comments box.

If you search BP forums for your question, it gets asked a lot on here and you can find numerous answers. 

I'm going to start renting out my first house in January and I'm curious if there's any sort of cheat sheet / checklist / reference of all of the different tax deductible expenses that fall under the 16 IRS categories.  

I recently started a CPA firm offering numerous services.

Here are some recommendations for you:Find and connect with other BP members that are in your area: http://www.biggerpockets.com/meetSet up keyword alerts to be notified of the topics that interest you: http://www.biggerpockets.com/alertsRead Beginner’s Guide: http://www.biggerpockets.com/real-estate-investingCheck out BP Podcasts: http://www.biggerpockets.com/renewsblog/category/podcast/Wishing you the best!  

Here are some recommendations for you:Find and connect with other BP members that are in your area: http://www.biggerpockets.com/meetSet up keyword alerts to be notified of the topics that interest you: http://www.biggerpockets.com/alertsRead Beginner’s Guide: http://www.biggerpockets.com/real-estate-investingCheck out BP Podcasts: http://www.biggerpockets.com/renewsblog/category/podcast/If you wish to tag someone in the conversation on the forum, type @ followed by their name and then select the name of that person which should appear below the comments box.

Listen to podcast here : https://www.biggerpockets.com/renewsblog/category/podcast/ .

To that end, I believe that BP and @Joshua Dorkin should feature in several of the categories.