To a big extent, good property management boils down to a series of good decisions.  Well laid out procedures and policies are the basis of good decisions. 

Your lease agreement should have those policies all laid out in very plain, explicit language.  When you do a lease with your tenant, you need to hit on all the points.  You don’t necessarily have the read the thing word for word, but you must be certain they understand the deal. 

Develop a consistent mindset when it comes to property management.  Tenants will test you to no end. They have a sixth sense when it comes to sniffing out an inexperienced, novice property manager.  You need to put your foot down when there is an issue, or your tenants will walk all over you. 

The novice makes special exceptions far too often.  Sure, sometimes there are reasons to cut them some slack.  The goal is to balance hassles from any one tenant with the benefits to your cash flow to keeping that tenant in the property.