If you look through many of the threads on this site you will see a great deal reviews showing full experiences that encountered obstacles, but more importantly, how we stayed involved to resolve the issue when those issues came up. 

You can't even look at a foreclosure so you don't want to buy your first investment site unseen.

Sites like NeighborhoodScout or even just attending local city planning meetings can provide insights into where the city is growing.Network with Local Investors: Building relationships with experienced investors in Austin can accelerate your learning curve.

The area has seen significant growth, making it a popular choice for rental properties.Fishers: Located northeast of the city, Fishers boasts a strong economy and a growing population.

Mainly raw land with utilities already on site, or properties that have been vacant for 10+ years, that would be a 50/50 on demo or rehab.The other fun fact that I learned at the sale:  the tax foreclosure only wipes out the tax included in the judgement years.

.* We get as close as possible to ironing/feeling out deal terms that would be agreeable to the seller in advance of submitting an offer, including site visits if they are located in the same market we are vs. out of state/market.All of the above data provides us with enough of an analysis to know what our deal parameters are going to be, at least to within a few percentage points.

I suspect most locations are similar--unless you live in the super popular area (to visit) the effect is probably second order at best. 

What is a reasonable price to hire someone to go on site to measure the home and then draw the plans?

We are forecasting 14 duplexes situated on this site. 

It's his business, his job site, etc. so it's up to him who to use on what part of the project.