That way I had multiple contacts/referrals in case something fell through, especially with contractors.When it comes to your questions, I personally scoured the interwebs like this site, podcasts/youtube, and others forms of educational media to gain a foundation of understanding and there is a pleurae of book recommendations as well people can always provide. 

Combing through the tax assessment files, finding the chain of ownership, determining what municipal liens might be attached and scouring Statutes relating to tax foreclosure laws in my state/county (did I mention that I am quite adept at research).

MultiFamily residences are what I am looking into and scouring over- early days but I'm loving it.

I scoured my new duty assignment for a home with guest house.

I realized I had to expand faster and began scouring the MLS for another deal.

Now after scouring high and low for coverage, I am getting offers for coverage at 24k per year and 30k per year.

Those are likely serious buyers actively scouring the mls for discounts.

Scour the MLS and don't be afraid to attack when you find one. 

I would scour the zoning codebook, usually available online for free, and see what the allowances are in what you can do, build, etc.

I’ll keep scouring bigger pockets for more info.