And as you get experience as a landlord, I would guess creative or owner financing may be open to you (especially with solid professional background and sophistication)....Finally, if you get interested, there never seem to be enough folks with tax expertise for the smaller investors (too small for the major tax firms and too complicated for the strip mall tax franchise chains and kiosks).

Suggest you research title yourself at county recorder to confirm chain of title and identify last (prior) owner of record. 

A good one is worth their weight in gold.  

My 2 oldest sons (college students) just stopped in at Bentley Gold Coast in Chicago and have decided they want to skip buying a sports car now and want to put their money in RE.

We are all 3 feet from gold...Franklin

If a boom hits, then you've hit gold.  

Bigger Pockets is one of the best things to happen to me, and I feel like I struck gold when I found it. 

They often have, or are aware of, "pocket listings" that can give you a leg up on the competition.As an investor, it's your job to prospect for deals, but a great agent can help you figure out exactly where to dig and just how deep you need to go to strike gold.

same is true for any new Trader Joe's, Whole Foods, or if there's an area that has recently seen a number of new fast food chains enter the marketplace. 

I know of at least 50 projects going through permits in Rainier and it is a gold mine.I invest heavily in Tacoma, Olympia, Lacey, Lakewood, Mt Vernon, Arlington, Ballard, Queen Anne, Eastside as well and can objectively say Rainier maybe at the top of the list.