You are able to identify blighted properties, similar to driving for dollars... but without all the driving.

That kind of ROI can easily be had on marketing dollars spent wisely- I recommend you identify a great, small list and market very very effectively to them.

Be nice to identify a property (off market) if you can, prior to listing your SFH.

The city would probably argue that you can easily identify which meter was tied to the leak by turning off water and determining which of the meters continued to spin.

I'll let you know if I identify any properties.

This is his pattern.

If I were to give you one bit of advice it would be:  other markets are way more given to cash flow, as you know... but when investing out of state, the first step after identifying a couple of markets that look good, is find an excellent property manager in those locations. 

@Jill Curran I would say No, you don't need to pay for a new survey unless there is a large parcel like 5 acres or more where the boundaries are not clearly identified.

I imagine that after getting some experience under my belt, I’ll learn how to identify many of the things that would need repair, but as a newbie, what’s the general consensus for handling how to determine the types of repairs that need to take place in a property?

For my location, Section 8 pays 110% of market rents.Given that you are only getting section 8 tenants you may have over improved for your area.The section 8 office will identify how much of the rent they will pay and how much the tenant pays.