While I signed up for BP over a year ago, I was never too active and mostly just browsing the forums.

While browsing, I found some condos that are within my budget, however, others around me have always said "Don't ever buy a condo, they are bad investments and are hard to sell".My question is...Would it be a good idea to start out a Real Estate portfolio with a condo using the House Hacking strategy? 

They will NOT be making a trip prior to moving and plan to select a place by online browsing only.Third person is an their late-50's and currently going through foreclosure.

I have looked at places like city-data and a lot of browsing around on zillow and redfin, but am having a hard time coming up with things like price to rent, appreciation rates, job growth etc.So where do you look for this information?

Selecting the location or property type first is unlikely to yield the best results.To target a specific tenant segment, you need to choose the appropriate property in the right location.How Tenants Select a Place to LiveWhen someone is searching for a rental property, they typically begin by browsing one of the many real estate websites.

If you spend any measurable amount of time browsing the BP forums you have probably come across a thread or two that was started by a new investor who's having a heck of a time getting a Realtor to work with them in an out of state market.

Do buyers/investors simply interface with the current owners and make a deal that in turn is brought to an agent, or is it all through agents from start to finish?  

If you are browsing the MLS, you will not find any value add duplexes.

You could try browsing in a web browser.

Tried Zillow recently as I generally like their interface better, it's OK, but I noted they can't take individual payments from roommates the way Apts can.