Once you have a team established, they should be able to steer you away from bad areas.

I don't care for it since you have to be there in person, but it does seem to reduce the opportunity for steering the best underlying parcels to "a few friends" of the treasurer.Ryan, my quick read of the rules indicated you have to give a $500 deposit, the list will cost you $250.00, and each certificate will have $104.00 in fees added to the tax amount! 

Once you know those two things we can steer you in the direction of where to invest that time/money.  

Id steer you towards re-evaluating the strategy and what your ultimately trying to do.

Any referrals or companies to steer clear of?

Hi Wen,  My best advice would be to steer clear of the Quickbooks / Quicken product line as they just aren't designed for property managers or landlords at all.  

You can use an inspection report for clues and to steer clear of risky deals. 

Gabe Amedee Michelle and Lucas are great individuals that could steer you in the right direction. 

This is 100% true, but I think he more so meant how to find an agent that won't take advantage of him/steer him in the wrong direction so they can make more commission.

If it doesn’t fit your criteria, however, it’s good that you steered clear from it.