I'll tell you why this is a backwards approach:  You could spend a lot of time and effort researching, only to discover that it is under contract ("in escrow") or otherwise unavailable to you.  

Thought it was odd that the personal loan & student loan options were "unavailable".

I hired a retired airline pilot as a project manager who had experience with ~6-7 builds over his lifetime to help guide me through the process, meet with inspectors when I was unavailable, do quality control, etc.The house ended up amazing in the end but I don't think I could have done my first one without that project manager.

I know that between Google Earth Pro and county-maintained GIS platforms it is possible to get a lot of property information for free, but I imagine that for folks without day-to-day experience, it can be time-consuming and often frustrating.On top of that, often times data is unavailable in less urban areas or available only in paper or PDF format which means scanning photo-copied images that are barely readable.

"Home Page Temporarily Unavailable" I've been trying to log on to B of A for 2 hours from both my PC and my phone.

These non-bank lenders are filling a need and providing otherwise unavailable origination volume. 

It is not the unavailable homes but the unavailable funds.

The reason the property has taken so long is due to plumber/electrician unavailability, scheduling delays, supply shortages, and the extensive renovations. 

If historical rental data is unavailable, you can use the rate of appreciation in the area as a proxy, as rents tend to follow prices.

Wait for the day: seller's divorce puts lien on house, pending lawsuit puts lien on house, seller has other financing they didn't mention that miraculously pops up the day of closing, seller is audited by IRS and state and liens the house, takes away Neal's car with the tow truck jaws, there is any insurance claim and insurance company denies because of fraud and goes after seller and Neal, or insurance company issues check in lender's name and seller's name but seller is dead or unavailable,In some states you can BUY a LLC.