YUP banks have services that provide foreclosure cluster reports. they are not brain dead.and if it was not for national lenders who got Freddie and fanny to buy the loans there would be NO money for these areas.. you have some CRA requirements but those generally go to owner occ.

In the early days my brain would get stuck.

This is for the people who research at 2am because they can't shut their brains off (like me).Researching Rentals online:- #1 - CraigsList- #2 - Rentometer- #3 - Zillows- #4 - Homes.com/Rentals (here you can search by property type, ie multi, single, etc) but limited to only places looking for tenancy, like CraigsList- #5 - MapLivNeighborhood Research:- City-Data.com (Great for abundance of data)- AreaVibes.com (breaks out data in 7 easy categories: Amenities, Cost of Living, Crime, Education, Employment, Housing, Weather) You can customize searches on how important each category is.

If that's the case Google and check Meetup to see if there are any REIA meetings or real estate investor meetings in your area you could join and if your handy with fixing things or have something else to offer try and make friends with some of the investors doing what you want to do and offer free labor in exchange to pick thier brain.

Since I am an information junkie I have so much info in my brain, I have no idea where to begin! 

@Dilthon RamosI'm having a hard time wrapping my brain around anyone in Katy being underwater.

If the houses you own, their weak and their strong points, aren't in your brain and mindlessly crawling like a blind worm all the time, you should do it.Now, on the other hand, if the phrase "assuming an average of 8% per year for 25 years" doesn't set off an alarm bell in your head, that's your problem.

I have wracked my brain coming up with as comprehensive a list as I can.

But alas as much as I LOVE my family, they are BRAIN WASHED by the bobbing heads in the media (all who make their money off of convincing you to buy!)

Ask more questions and get into a brain storming session with them.