For example, to get up-to-date property tax data you would need to scrape every county's tax data website (thousands of different websites, data formats, issues, etc...) then aggregate and clean the data.

Theres a website called plexerr.com that pulls comps and exports to CSV.

I'm unsure if they lend on new builds or not, they do have a website where you can set a virtual meeting with them.https://www.goodfaithfund.com/

She was very pleasant and explained that their website doesn’t work, which we thought was a bit unusual.

I was just on their website looking at the permit process:CityofSac-STR PermitLooks like 90 days max until you get a conditional use permit but still reading as it seems a little unclear:A short-term vacation rental may operate from a location that is not the operator's primary residence for a total of 90 days in a calendar year.

As you begin your REI journey here is one tip I have for you:Use this website as you are trying to narrow down the places you want to invest in. https://www.areavibes.com/Its awesome because it gives you a "total livability score" & you can compare different zip codes & streets to others. 

Once the property is on the MLS, it is visible through any number of consumer websites.  

Spent a minute on their website and this in particular stood out to me as a red flag.

This is not my area of expertise, so wise people on this website will likely tell me not to venture into this!  

Also, not very easy to use typical methods of valuation like comparable sales - there is no public tax assessor's website that you can just freely grab this from.