I’d love to hear about the crime rates or any other issues (which we cannot guess from the online stats), and how easy or hard it is to find reliable tenants and property management companies.

Quote from @Zach Howard: Quote from @Jonathan Greene: If you are looking at properties in the US only on Zillow, and not seeing them in person (I know you are in Hong Kong), this is just an effort in futility because you can't underwrite single-family or small multifamily deals only online.

you can find all the info online"...it's like, no sh*t you can...all the information ever is online!

I have been reading the online resources about getting started, searching the market, and even doing tours, but I am hesitant to jump in and buy a house as I have quite a large amount of student debt.

I also recommend a bank that has local branch that you can go into vs having it 100% online.

go to meetups, join online communities, talk to people, make friends.good luck

I came across one of these loan agreements online somewhere a few months ago, can't recall where I found it but it was clear in reading the loan agreement there was no language referencing the loan actually encumbering real property, it was just an unsecured loan.  

I use QuickBooks Online for all of my clients.

You can also check their reviews online at Google, Facebook, or Yelp.

We use DealCheck to underwrite deals and QuickBooks Online for everything related to accounting and budgeting.