•I have been figuring 7% for Capex due to the fact that my properties are rehabbed really heavily/completely but i want to put a total dollar cap on the amount i should be holding if i reach that. 

Also, we vet our sellers heavily on the phone to ensure they're providing all of the repairs needed to the home.

Unless you're willing to fly out every weekend, you'll be heavily relying upon new contacts to be your eyes and ears.

However, after  looking back on the whole process I wouldn't change a thing because like many before me have said it is a GR8 educational experience.So now that I know through hard work and dedication I can do this thing on my own, I will start to lean heavily on building a team that will help me to be even more successful in the REI world of flipping. 

I am heavily involved however in the construction industry in Philly!  

Hi @David Wood,I'm a bit of a beginner myself, but other resources I have found helpful include:city-data.net: for stats on occupations, industries, employmentcensus.gov: for gross rents, owner occupied housing ratescrimereports.com & spotcrime.comgreatschools.orgbls.org: for more labor statistics, also check out city's wikipedia pageI probably rely most heavily on bestplaces.net, which you already mention.Best of luck!

A lot of investors also are doing direct mail campaigns some are also heavily involved in our investor meetings. 

What does the tax base look like in your market, are they relying too heavily on property owners?

Of course every market is different, however in general rents are weighted much more heavily by bedrooms than presence/lack of a basement

Overall, I think the answer to your question depends heavily on your individual situation.