Ideally, you'll be able take the time to go for a visit, look them in the eye, tour some props, see the town and get a feel for how they operate.

If you ever want to venture down to Port Colborne ( about a 3 hour drive) I would be happy to give you a tour of my projects and we can talk shop.

I've final tabled a WSOP (World Series of Poker) Event, a WSOP Circuit event, and have been on television in a Heartland Poker Tour event.

The reason for investing in real estate is to enjoy life a little more and working 80 hours/week will make you wealthy quicker, but will also make you gray quicker.I have a full time job and a side business giving tours (admittedly not as time consuming as your side-gig as a realtor) and I have to be sure to set aside time for my lady.

I know what the ARV should be based on my going to lots of open houses, touring houses that are under contract and seeing what the houses actually sell for on the county website.But, I do use the free sites to do a lot of research.  

A property I recently toured appeared to be a duplex but turned out to be a condo, so I will continue looking.

.#2 Explore Lowes and Home Depot to Learn About Material PricingTake a tour through Lowes and Home Depot (or their websites) and look at finishes materials and fixtures that you will consider using in your rehab projects.

Knowing your market and your numbers will help you identify potential deals and narrow tour search.

In that 3 day weekend we toured about 12 condos, placed an offer on one we loved, met with the Property Manager we intended to use and spent the rest of the time at the Roulette table.

I've taken the VIP tour at First American Title's US Headquarters and I'm telling you it's impressive.For us citizens, we can research independently by driving to the local county recorder's office and getting help from a clerk on how to use their database.