And finally, any tips, tricks, opinions, or any comments about this would be incredibly appreciated. 

Great first step to learning and investing.Consider developing your profile a bit, it helps other get to know you.Other tips, I highly recommend BP's Ultimate Beginner's Guide, it helps to form a general foundation in the industry.

I was hoping to get some advice from the experience veterans on here about tips on buying a first home, things to look out for, some hidden costs or expenses that I wont see until its too late, anything along those lines!

Ok, now that you have taken your initial step, below are some quick links to get engaged.http://www.biggerpockets.com/starthere http://www.biggerpockets.com/ubg http://www.biggerpockets.com/meet Setting up Keyword Alerts How to Use @Mentions on BiggerPockets 25 Tips for Real Estate SuccessREI can be very daunting, but, before you go searching for that 1st buy, please take a few minutes to bone up on the tips in link below.http://www.realestate.com/advice/buying-your-first-investment-property/ However, this site thrives on interactions and as such we encourage two way exchanges and look forward to educational and thought provoking ideas relevant to REI.

And finally, in living in the this same community, i have recently learned that an empty lot across the street from the condo is becoming a 5-star hotel equipped with multiple restaurants.  

any tips, i mean should we always lock the front door behind us during showings, even 'open' houses?

@Angela Jackson I am nowhere near the area, but I really appreciate when members tell about deals like this because the hotel room liquidations are great for nicely and inexpensively staging a home.

Thanks for the tips

THEN  for the cost of a plane ticket and hotel for a few days of head to head meetings I think is a great investment. 

I'm new to Bigger Pockets and I look forward to spending time on the site and learning as much as I can.I was wondering if someone can give me tips on where to locate properties for sale?