Other things like population growth, unemployment statistics, job growth, public transit, avg vacancy rates, transportation options (hwy, subway, buses, trains, airport) and proximity to each of those.

The vast majority of the time, my buyer is able to drop off the earnest money check at an escrow office close to them and everybody is fine and happy, but I'm wondering if there is a service I can provide my buyers to make this much simpler.What I envision is that some sort of transport service (FedEx?

Transportation: Uber2.

Look for places close to transportation like train and subway stations and close to a commercial corridor. 

You were right, the house is located in worcester on a main road with public transportation.

Its fairly easy to estimate hard costs like materials and labor, but what often gets overlooked is soft/holding costs like utilities, insurance, taxes, permits, grass cutting, costs of funding, transportation, survey, selling costs, commissions, advertising, time delays and contingencies.Make sure your numbers are strong.

It is a very large city that I am unfamiliar with and there are so many options for investing...single family home in the burbs, apartment near the university, condo downtown with easy public transport, etc etc Are there specific websites/resources you use to find all this data?

Is there close public transportation stops nearby?  

It's a nice property in a decent area with shopping, and transportation nearby.

If you are buy and hold, you definitely need to know crime rates, vacancy rates, unemployment rates, school rankings, public transportation, shopping, entertainment, etc.