I understand that there are issues with inheritance laws and unpaid property taxes for many of these properties but surely there is a way to figure out this mess and get these properties sold and utilized.

I do see the utility of determining whether or not someone has experience or not by asking how many doors they have, it’s a quick way to see if someone is an experienced investor or just starting or is hoping to start, but more doors definitely isn’t always better in my experience. 

Also, multiple documented site visits with the city and utilities like @Rick Garrido said is time consuming but worth it for your evaluation.

I utilize a few spreadsheets for tracking.

They have a large cash reserve to fall back on and to utilize for double closings. 

Evaluate market conditions closer to your next move to optimize the timing for a 1031 exchange.HELOC for Investments: Utilizing a HELOC could provide funds for a down payment on an Airbnb or potential flip.

There are tons of qualified individuals who can help you shop products and their select lenders playbook utilizing the find a lender tab at the top of the page more often than not, an experienced broker who can help you shop a married of options, across-the-board of every lender in the nation is going to be able to provide some great value to you in order to save time on shopping.

I was taught to ask for bank statements, pay stubs, utility bills on and on.

Marketing only on Zillow is amateurish, which indicates they may be lacking skills in other areas.If your unit rents for $1,000 a month, you are losing more than that because of utilities.

I'm going to a new CPA this Friday who has extensive real estate experience so I'm hoping he will be able to advise me on the best/easiest software to utilize.