@Scott Logan I believe there are a couple of investor groups that meet on the north side of the city- I haven't attended any, but I occasionally see postings on this site- use the search function to look for past threads and you should be able to find them.

Is this a function of my real estate agent?

I always give my customers three options, those who want cheap work but functional, high standard, and the best.  

My hair kind of gives me away at social functions!  

It would be nicer if they simply had APIs for integrating with their standard functionality, but that sounds like a broader issue for them. 

Obviously, you need to do what is necessary to get the place functional again, but you admittedly aren't sure what is needed at this point.There are really two approaches you can take.

Use the search function.  

If you know what makes real estate valuable, the different functions, then you'll understand how to make what you buy more valuable, then you profit even if you paid a FMV at that time. 

Google maps has a public transit function which will show you estimated times on transit from different locations.  

Looks really nice but lacks on functionality.