I will be in Cleveland Jan 16-18 for a visit as well. 

My buddy has had one here (in Boulder County) for a long time that was a cash cow, allowing him to keep a place for his parents to stay when they visit as well as allowing his wife to be a stay at home mom with their disabled child.

So far here is my progress, having started less than a week ago:- Initiate a search with Brad - He is a licensed agent as well as an investor- Visit a couple distressed properties in southern Columbus- Call several hard money lenders - set up meetings accordingly- Call a few inspectors - I have one ready to visit a property once I close- Call GCs - I have one GC who seems to be a good fit although I expect the renovation to be very challenging- Made a deal analysis excel sheet for calculating my offers (I prefer making my own)- I added a "Factor of Safety" for my renovation time and cost- With time and experience, I'll hopefully be able to adjust these- Accepted the fact that this is going to be very difficult with many obstacles to overcomeThroughout this process, any advice, critiques, etc. would be very much appreciated.

There is a lot of public data available to look through before you ever have to visit a property.

I am a newbie investor and would like to visit a few live auctions to get a lay of the land.

Find an area that you visit a few times a year - any place with family or friends that you visit often?

Hey Zachary,The NARPM website would be a good place to visit to find local Property Managers or visit a local meetup where you'll find PMs and realtors. 

When you go visit a house you can take pictures or videos and then go home and make a more specific estimate of what you’ll think needs work.

In which case, do you have a GC/crew lined up who are (i) likely to be available to do the work in the near future, and (ii) would be willing to visit a property before you decide on an offer, to estimate rehab costs?

Some don't site visit a property until after an offer.