All the information you could ever need is all over the internet.

Affordable, good coverage and an internet based system you can use to add/drop properties. 

for two reasons.you have a good amount of inventory to wholesale as you have burnt out landlords and you have old homeowners who want out of the neighborhood because it has turned from owner occupied to rentals.. some areas its just not a very feasible business to try to start.also its MUCH harder than the internet makes it seem and you do need money.. unless you happen to know a lot of folks with distressed real estate like through your church or family or what have you.. its sales and marketing business..

For example if drywall is down, I see that as an opportunity to update all of the cabling (internet, power, and cable) if needed or at least you know what it is when you check it out.

It seems to me from my internet research that I can't touch the deposit unless he fails to pay rent or causes damage to the property.2- Is it wise to touch the deposit before he leaves?

It is a gamble, especially if you are out of state.

These aren't issues that are specific to flipping and should be a primary focus for any real estate investment - The bottom line is that you made a profit despite the challenges you faced - and congratulations for that - but it seems to the bystander that you gambled with another investor's money while investing very little of your own - you put yourself in the position of a teacher or mentor when in fact you are not extremely experienced in the business of flipping - consider how you would feel if you lost a portion of your partner's investment....Today I am closing on the purchase of my 15th flip for the year, and I wouldn't dream of taking on an investment partner who wasn't equally experienced and had an equal say in the decision process.Good Luck with your future projects and Happy Investingjeff 

You’ll learn how Paul discovered the vital difference between investing and speculating, why falling in love (with a deal) is incredibly dangerous, and the huge real estate gamble that Paul made that cost him $40,000.

Its educated gambling..... and you may hit a grand slam...or you may get punched in the nuts...... its personal decision on your risk tolerance.Sometimes that huge leap of faith and "screw it, I'm going for it" can reap huge rewards....and sometimes it doesn't.For every "I bought it sight unseen and its doing great", I would easily bet there are dozens that have been totally screwed...some of them don't even know it yet.

So when analyzing potential deals, don't use some generic rule you read on the internet because it'll totally lead you astray.