This is a lesson that took me a long time to internalize and I paid a lot of money and time because of it. 

They already gave you their social security number, birth date, income, kids' names, criminal background check authorization, etc... and they think a quick head-poke inside the front door is intrusive? 

If there is an internal problem like a gas valve, rusted heat riser, bad circulator pump or (gasp) a cracked boiler, you better buckle up.When we have a situation where an owner we represent has to put in major money in repairs or must replace a regular gas boiler, we always examine the possibility of installing electric baseboard heating. 

And yet every day, I see "investors" from California and international investors are trying to scoop up "cheap" properties all over the midwest without realizing they're buying in dead areas or war zones.

We reviewed the international Property Maintenance Code (https://codes.iccsafe.org/content/IPMC2018/chapter-4-light-ventilation-and-occupancy-limitations).

@Daniel Livermore find a few local flippers who have great reputations, intro yourself and see if they can mentor you, you can intern or you can invest, so you can shadow them and learn the process from a great source. 

Hey Zach,Also to chime in again on #3 - The type of analysis that you would be looking for that takes everything into account as a whole is Internal Rate of Return (IRR) - Here's a link to a pretty easy read on how it is used in RE Investing. https://www.crowdstreet.com/what-internal-rate-return-irr/

Regarding the 3 options of within Massachusetts, intra-state and internationally.

You may want to even intern for a seasoned professional. 

I have marketed property internationally over many years and the laws around receiving fees are related to the geography.