You'll start to learn the shorthand of ARV, CoC, ROI, cap-rate, etc. pretty quickly.I think most of the language around "where to buy" is a lot easier to understand:  job growth, population growth, average household income, unemployment, school district quality, crime heatmaps, blah...blah...blah...  

The tenants keep the house relatively clean, and while they are late on rent alot, they are currently up to date.Thoughts?

Eric Newman Samuel Pawlitzki is correct... if you sell that land for say $60,000 to a buyer the title agency you use will settle your the liens on the property before the title can transfer as clean title.

They do need to be able to do your taxes for the state you are conducting business in as well, but that will be easier to find than someone who really understands how to take advantage of the tax code for a real estate investor.

Once you figure out your why and your passion, you line up your goals to support your why/passion and then your investing criteria are much easier defined to support your goals. 

This will now make it much easier for agents and brokers to share and maintain information so cap rates in the area will become more transparent to realtors.As of right now your best bet on getting cap rates for particular property types is by contacting commercial brokers or commercial lenders.

We responded and stated that upon inspection, if the property was in clean order, i would release half of it the next day; i explained that the back tenant is not communicating with me and will not let me enter the granny flat so I'm concerned i may need the deposit to evict her. 

Take the clean up and damages from the security deposit.

Charlotte had seemed like such a perfect city because of the colleges nearby and tons of work downtown, it hinted to me it would be easier to find roommates to rent out the rooms to while I live there.

You have stable income that is a matter of public record and you are much easier to go after if you default.