Check vacancy rates, average rents, and tenant demographics to understand the rental landscape.3.

I've also been pre-approved for a $125K HELOC against my current residence, which I plan to use for the rehab and landscaping.

Make sure you cover the roof, windows, sheds, landscaping-everything.

Be careful out there....some of the new builds are not comparable to the old builds....many of the newer ones are all siding, no brick, no light fixtures or ceiling fans...just LED recessed lighting...no doorbell, no garage door opener, no attic stairs, one piece tubs, vs tiled baths, no landscaping, no trees, and on and on....they've taken out virtually every single cost.   

Once the deadline passes, start with the requisite escalation of legal/regulatory avenues to get them to comply.Hopefully the next PMC is more professional.

2) If the lease that the tenant agreed to included them maintaining the front yard/ landscaping - is it reasonable to deduct a 1 time yard clean-up from their security deposit? 

In recent years, the world has witnessed a regulatory awakening in data privacy enforcement, a development driven by increasing consumer demands for transparency and the global proliferation of privacy laws.

Are there any recommendations from anyone who have found certain news sites or data sources to extract data from that has helped them understand the current market landscape in their target area?

The cure the various regulatory authorities have come up with is twofold, legislation that restricts the methods wholesalers may use, and regulations requiring wholesalers to hold real estate brokers license.  

UNLESS the community has HOA and HOA is taking care of all the landscaping etc.