Hre are the key things to knowWhat you are bidding on - often oddball properties that are hard to identify and have little value are auctioned offThe true as is value of the property, The tax assessment can be way higher or way lower than the true as is valueThe local laws and how they affet your total costs and returns

You can shop 10 or 20 lenders in a weeks time, find out what products they offer, what rates, what overlays and qualifications they each have for you.... 

However, not one general location is going to help you determine whether it's a good market for multi family or single family etc.The one true way to start looking into a market is talking to an agent who knows the area.

These are going to show you the true performance. 

This would probably allow me to qualify for the FHA loan if this is true since the giant loss is throwing off my DTI. 

Before buying or renting in an unfamiliar neighborhood, you should check the following two sites: SpotCrime, AreaVibes,These sites provide valuable information, including Livability Scores, which cover aspects such as crime rates, employment, health, housing, schools, shopping, and more.well, anything can happen anywhere.

You find this out by talking to people, speaking with past residents, people in the industry, or mystery shopping the property.Using technology to pull in data so you don't have to manually type it in, is helpful, but other than that, I would not trust automation. 

I'll definitely be doing some research on The Short Term Shop! 

Even if you only averaged 2.8% appreciation annually, which if you've had it 20 years I have no clue how that's true given prices have well more than doubled in that time, youre skipping over the fact that you have been benefiting from that appreciation on the ENTIRE house, not just the % you paid for.  

What is required to obtain real estate investing independence is the following1 - TRUE education in real estate (1) principles, (2) law, (3) finance.