The homebuilder could have figured it out how to maintain overall grading/drainage of the site, but it was more so needed to satisfy the City.  

The opportunity to receive cash flow from mobile home rentals, RV site hook ups and houses.

Do your research on people off of the site - on LinkedIn, Instagram.

The Long-Distance Real Estate Investing book is a great one to get the lay of the land on doing it from afar, but getting on-site experience will also be important in your journey.

I would suggest anyone considering web developer to build a site to take this crucial factor into consideration.

Auction Sites or Distressed Property Listings: Sites like Auction.com or Hubzu sometimes list properties that need work but are in decent locations and within budget.Given your experience with renovations and your budget, exploring these options might get you closer to what you're looking for without having to compromise on property age or potential renovation challenges.

I had to hire someone to deliver those to the site.

I used these sites to find properties for sale, current rents, as and look over previously sold properties.Step 5 (leads): Immediately I realized that going about finding a deal through Zillow was nearly impossible and that brokers are not incredibly willing to spend time handing off deals to a newbie.

How much of your free-time goes into research versus actual hands-on work on-site?

Look them up on the tax records for free and then use a free site like Spokeo to search info on the owner.