They would have been on Google hitting up people like me, with a #1 ranking website.Motivated sellers, chase you.

All complimented with Amazon fulfillment centers, google, and more tech manufacturing jobs.The bad reputation of “Detroit” comes from OOS investors wanting sub $40,000, D class properties in poor condition, because they pencil out to 2-3% deals on paper.

Things like landscaping/snow removal and labor cost for repairs are going to be highly variable based on your market so you'd need to do your own research on the going rate by either talking to other local investors, running your own google search, or exploring basic services on thumbtack/angies list etc. 

"It looked fine on Google Maps!" 

try KiaviLima one these are large lenders that will give you a baseline on costs.. then google hML Boise for locals pick up the phone or make an appointment.

This was more interesting when Google streetview was a new and novel thing.

Let this come up on google searches.

You can also find real estate investing groups through meetup.com, Facebook, or a Google search.

I recommend setting up keyword alerts for each area as they are discussed in the forums daily with advertisements posted in the BiggerPockets marketplace hourly.One thing to note when looking at the individual markets, you can make or lose money in any market.

Do your due diligence upfront on the person (simple google search with their name and lawsuit or scam can weed out many - as well as a search on BP)2.