Now I have to figure out how we an afford it while hiring help.

I've been told to always go through an Attorney for any Real Estate Investment deal.What are some good questions to ask to make sure I find/hire the best one?

I hired  a lawyer, sure, but once the judgement was in, he was out within 30 days.

If you are new to REI and absolutely cannot visit the market (huge mistake in my opinion) then at least hire a local investor to be present at the inspection and give you their opinion.  

learning about permits... when do I need one, what is structural, what needs to be inspected and what doesn't, when I can pull my own, when the county will require me to hire a general or other licensed professional for the permit, etc. 

Want to get your professional opinion on what are the must  ask question and must to fill out contracts for hiring a general contractor?

I hate HOAs ... the fees eat into your cash flow, fees can go up but won't go down, for what the fees are you could hire a gardener etc to give the same service on a property w/out HOA, they limit your ability to renovate (i.e you can't fix the exterior or add on to a condo), they may have now or in the future limits on using as a rental, you generally have less control over your investment and the land (which is really the valuable part of RE over the long term).

Of course, I have hired an architect and subcontracted bigger jobs like foundation, framing, roofing, HVAC and sheetrock install.

You can't do renovations, you need to hire someone to do it.

Do you hire a management company/companies to handle the properties?