However Id like to know what are some data points and minimum criteria you look at in a market (like a 1% job growth YoY) to feel informed on your decision making processalso if you go to the area what are some things you look for physically that would be a good sign 

I have no decision power but hope you hear your stories!

Short answer is as little as possible.The long answer is it depends on the deal.Typically you end up in a subject 2 situation when the current owner has little or no equity in the property, the current advantage of subject 2 properties is that most mortgages are below current market rates.Keep in mind when acquiring a property subject 2, in most instances you are not notifying the current lender of the change in ownership, and most if not all mortgages have a due on sale clause, which is the lender's decision if they want to enforce it or not.I personally like the idea its a great way to get investment properties with low rate loans, that with most likely appreciate in the coming years.

Now people are justifying poor decisions on how important equity is, even though they are losing money. 

Best decision I made. 

In a tough market, it's easy to get distracted by all the shiny opportunities that come up.For example, to really focus on growing our real estate agent business, we made the difficult decision to stop buying investment properties this year.

Curious to hear what drives your decisions!

Map out your goals and rewrite them often to help guide your decisions. 

This is one of the toughest decisions an investor can face.When I’ve been in this situation, I’ve asked myself: What does my income look like outside of this investment?

This is currently the only thing I am actually decisive about.I think I'm struggling with analysis paralysis combined with generally being overwhelmed by all of the different metrics and data to look at.Specifically, I'm currently trying to narrow my market within Connecticut, but I am getting stuck on how to determine a "good" market.