All of the advice that I have collected on this subject here is to use every means necessary.

Sorry for the arrogant title...but made you look :)I am an IT consultant leading Big Data, and Data Science projects and I am looking to use my experience/skills to give me an edge in Real Estate investing.

I appreciate how you are data driven and our investment style meshed well together.

Brandon Swartwood It’s all about Cap Rate with commercial props, there is allot of important data that you’ll need eventually but you can do a quick preliminary analysis with a few simple data points.

ATTOM Data predicts Amazon HQ2https://tinyurl.com/yd7uwndd

Simply collect it on your rentals and pay them monthly. 

Pick a few neighborhoods within those areas and start tracking as much data as you can. 

Also since you know where he lives and he is a homeowner, you have some recourse for collecting on your judgement.

I’d love to go and collect a new property for 3.5% down every year, but it’s  just too much with my work schedule and having my son, so i was a bit picky with this first place because I wanted a place we could make into something we could enjoy living in.

However, generally the management fee only includes collecting rents and handling the contractors (lawn care, repairs, snow removal, utilities, etc.) they will generally pass-through these expenses to the property owner.