In the short term I'm working to increase my knowledge about real estate investing and the markets I want to invest in, create opportunities for capital, and monitor for deals. 

If you want them to visit the house regularly to monitor it, no.You need a Property Manager.

I need to monitor winter temperature in several vacant properties during the month of January.  

I was searching to find an easier way to confirm parcel number with the GPS on your phone.  

What resources online that can be used to monitor accurate mortgage rates on a daily basis?

That's how Brokers, investors and developers monitor things and get info. 

(note: I only monitored the progress of these roof repairs, never was involved in the paperwork or process through the insurance company)What do you think I should do; wait to get estimates from local roofing companies, or call insurance to file a claim first?

I am a novice investor and monitoring a couple of turn key websites, rootstock being one of them, to buy my first investment property.

Paid $189, monitoring service around $29 per monthAlso used a home sitter twice now, also worked well as long as the property is rented within a short time frame, otherwise its a killer.Better still.... get a long term, excellent tenant, perhaps rent slightly under market so you have choice.

But if you're using a dreaded third-party supplier, they'll do collection runs differently and likely more frequently, with the risk of them skimming coins for themselves.With that said, would there be interest in a shared-laundry management tool to aid in collections, usage monitoring, and maintenance tracking?