I would highly encourage you stay as active on the forums and blogs as possible, you will learn a lot more by interacting.

A GIS system is basically an interactive mapping database, which shows parcel maps and property owner information (and a lot more).If this county does have a GIS mapping service, you can usually find it by Googling: "County, State, GIS" or you can use a service like AgentPro247.com, which pulls this information from all of the counties in the U.S.

So far that is the only interaction I have had with the group in over a month.

Jump in and get active -- the fun really starts when you begin to interact and make new colleagues and connections.

And don't forget a photo - you'll find better interactions here on the site when people can recognize you in multiple threads.

I look forward to interacting with you guys and gals on the boards!

I would recommend fully filling out your profile and adding a picture (it really enhances interaction and networking).

When work was being done I made it a point to find time to interact with my contractors, asking questions and getting my hands dirty.

That should give you at least a couple move outs/leases to do, some maintenance, upkeep, social interactions, maybe a police call to get your feet at least damp.

I often counsel clients that the PERCEIVED extra few percent is not worth it.Especially if you are a busy professional and do not have time for intensive hands on managing.If you want to buy one of these properties and make it your daily job then yes you can run them.Running from afar or hands off is a recipe for disaster.What I value is TIME more than anything these days.I am willing to take a little smaller return for something that goes without intensive day to day interaction to make it work.There are many properties I wouldn't touch.Eventually they will be bulldozed and you can get the value back and then some.The question is do you want that stress affecting your quality of life for the next 5,10,15 years until you get the payoff??