So would you generally recommend simply looking at the property and noting potential issues/weak spots and getting quotes and extrapolating from there? 

lol If a broker/agent competes on price only then they generally are a weak negotiator and will work for less as the only way to generate business.   

I'm looking to find a partner or mentor to help me with my weaknesses, mainly local contacts to find deals and creative ways to finance in the KC market.Hope to meet some great people on here and hopefully find deals to help me reach my goals!

I'm not good at that and respect my weaknesses and focus on my strengths.Best of luck.

In the scheme of things, a one time trip out-of-state is a small price to pay for a successful REI investment.This post is already long (my greatest weakness!)

However, seems like the RE market there is very weak and the home needs repairs. 

Albert Bui Pros: mentioned often on BP Cons: accounting module is very weak, expensive for small operations Cost: $1 per unit, per month plus an onboarding fee (equal to two months of service).

As per a recent GreenStreet report, homeownership is still weak, currently at 63.5% nationwide and 58.4% between 35-44.

Your argument is weak.

What helped me was taking a step back and writing down my goals and my strengths/weaknesses.