If I find a good area, what do I do w/ the info in the listings?

[Jared G.]

Hello! I'm starting out -- slowly. I'm looking in the Baltimore area for possible buy-and-hold properties to rent out, but this question is general for any region.

Let's say I've read around and looked in person and so I make a search on Zillow for a specific neighborhood I think is reasonable, say, 21212, with my maximum price of $150,000.

What comes up is many properties, ranging from $30k to $130k. They are of all different sizes, conditions, number of bedrooms, some are in foreclosure, some are on auction, some for sale -- and all of these different qualities make it hard for me to compare. How do you know what is cheap meaning it's a great deal versus cheap because it's something to avoid? When you see places that are falling apart, how do you know whether it's the good sort of "needs work" place versus the avoid-at-all-costs disaster?

I'm just clueless about what to do with all of this information as well as what other information I still need. My first instinct is to apply the 1% rule, but how do I know what a property is going to realistically rent for? How do I know what makes a good deal? I know a common answer is that I have to network, get out there, ask around, etc. but I am still confused on what information I am supposed to be trying to find out from these efforts. For example, if I were to call a realtor about this neighborhood, what information should I be asking to get a clearer picture of which properties are good or not? Other than just stating, "Tell me which places are good deals". . .

I see the search results, supposedly this is a good area from my research, but I can't make sense of WHAT I'm seeing when I see these listings.

I would be very grateful if someone could walk me through their steps, even if the search results are all hard passes, so I can see what you actually do with the research (i.e. "This first property catches my eye because A, B, and C. But these certain qualities X, Y, Z make it bad so I'm passing.")

The beginner material says "make sure a place fits your criteria" but I don't understand the search results. Even seeing it in person, I wouldn't know what it is I need to know or ask.