I recently listened to a podcast wherein an out of state investor referenced google maps in order to judge the vitality of a given neighborhood, but I have qualms with putting my (and my partner's) money behind a virtual litmus test of a neighborhood.

Do a "Skip Trace" or just Google people finder.

He will come up in a google search.  

Google your area and go talk to them if you would like to learn more. 

Everything will be documented in google sheets so contractor fees will be transparent.

When I do a google search of auction dot come I see so many bad reviews for hidden fees, delayed closing and some refusal to sell even though they met the minimum price. 

New investments by Google, Apple, Facebook and Autodesk is a true testament to the growing infrastructure here.

Walk area on google street view. look for bars on windows, what type of retail? 

Look at older aerial images in google earth to see if the park had more MHs in recent years. 

Much better than fiddling around on google (which I do every time in an attempt to not look like a complete newbie)