Hi
and welcome to the forums!
I guess the best way to answer your question would be to ask you one first - what do you plan on offering in terms of services?
Then - whatever you'd need in order to provide the finished product(s) for those services should be on your home-office shopping list
But aside from the basics listed above you'll also likely need Microsoft Office at the very least.
As far as how to send and receive your projects: I receive literally everything via email or fax-to-email - but as noted, many other VAs receive via postal mail or fax machine as well.
As you're reading through the fourms, feel free to post any questions that come up for you!