Most of these types of gurus are relying on marketing hype and social media presence more than actual results.

They get more envelopes open.Don't worry about a website - more important is establishing an internet presence in social media, especially Linkedin.

However, I learned later from the neighbor that the dog was a terror and she had to give her own dog away because my tenants dog became vicious and crazy in the presence of other animals--it even chewed up our backyard fence trying to get at the other dog.

The potential property that I am interested in is located on the North side of Chicago in an area that most buildings exteriors are composed of brick.  

YES I would screen the tenant because their presence may or may not affect the other tenants who live IN the duplex. 

First off @Aly Thompson , welcome to BP.Make individual appointments with the contractors and in general if you can't be present at the flips on a daily basis, not all day but enough to make your presence felt so work progresses, then take @Will Barnard's advice and hire a PM.

Give them your criteria and have them compose an automatic notifier using their MLS system.

I recommend establishing an online presence for your business even if it's just an information site.

A home inspector should be part of your due diligence as well but their job is to identify structural issues like the roof, the foundation, the presence of things like mold or termites, environmental issues etc. 

Hey BP, I'm curious to see what works and what doesn't when putting together a quick film... I already have a format in mind. Brief overview(20 sec)-intro(10 sec)-topic (1/2 min)-closing sequence(10 sec). I've never m...