He also saw my house is under investigation.

You don't need to...markups in retail are pretty uniform throughout the supply chain, and for public companies like Walmart, you can look at their quarterly filings to determine exactly what their margins are.With contractors, you don't have this same level of transparency, so if you want to ensure that you're getting reasonable prices, you need to do some additional investigation...

If you notice my posting history I am investigating purchasing my first condo in the next few months and am investigating some potential scenarios.I am looking into living in the unit for a little over 1 year and putting it up for rent either with HCV/Section 8 or finding a tenant through my brokerage(L&F) or other means. 

In investigating the out of state markets I determined that the more inexpensive options were just not properties I would want to own because they were in too bad a condition and renovation costs would make them comparable in price to what I can get locally.

That will usually motivate a bad PM to settle with you and make the complaint go away before the state starts to investigate.

Intent is the key word here, which it sounds like you clearly meet.

Here are some and considerationsTo select the neighborhood that best suits your requirements and tastes, investigate the individual neighborhoods within each area.If you currently have children or want to have children in the future, research school districts.Because traffic and transportation infrastructure might differ, take into consideration your preferred method of transportation.It might be beneficial to visit each location, look about communities, and get a sense of the neighborhood before making a selection.

Particularly be sure to include your goals for real estate investing so that folks can help you. 2) Follow your favorite forum topics and set up keyword alerts!

I will have investigate with my accountant if its worth setting up an LLC for post tax investments and utilize this route for tax advantaged accounts as well.

It's great to have you here.Here are some recommendations for you:Find and connect with other BP members that are in your area: http://www.biggerpockets.com/m...Set up keyword alerts to be notified of the topics that interest you: http://www.biggerpockets.com/a...Read Beginner’s Guide: http://www.biggerpockets.com/r...Check out BP Money Podcast: https://www.biggerpockets.com/..Wishing you the best