Make sure you have a great team behind you, no matter what market you choose. 

When choosing a lender you must never "pick one out of the air".  

We are most likely going to choose Indy.

Obviously this means I would be an out-of-state owner and would be relying on good advice from brokers/property managers, etc to choose wisely.But I am hands on person as well and the idea of being able to make later decisions about the property to help improve its return is also attractive to me, compared to a NNN lease on some other kind of property.

If you already included the make and model from a HVAC company you trust then they are providing your quality workmanship already by you choosing them over the sellers choice.

I would choose an inspector to "inspect" the work done by the first contractor, because then they will be required to sign off on the construction / rehab in order for your transaction to be complete and valid.

I know someone who choose the wrong GC when building in Jamaica Estates and that cost them over $500,000 and took an extra 3 years to build the house.

I will never understand why people "CHOOSE" to over leverage themselves and try to live beyond their means. 

For example, in order to choose my property management company, I called and interviewed 10 different companies.  

"Choose a job you love, and you will never work a day in your life"...