Downside is you have to have your place of business inspected, so they know it's you running the reports.I know there are other web only companies where the applicants type in their own info and pay themselves. 

I don't gamble on appreciation so if I was doing it I would look at it as more of a flip.

So most agents who are not actively marketing with web and social media are probably only living off their sphere of influence.

Insurance is a  gambling game in which the house (the insurance company) has the advantage, and it has to be that way or they would go out of business, but the player (you) sometimes wins more than you spend. 

I found this cool way to have your tenants build social proof for your building by having them do good reviews for your apartment: https://modernmsg.com/What are other ways to fight bad reviews on your MFH apartments?

It gets tricky at this pint because you can then ask the tenant to leave  ....and the tenant may leave based on that.......but this is a gamble because the tenant may say hey we have a 1 year lease with this property that you still have to honor...whether we are getting the housing choice voucher or not.......at which point you can simply wait and see if they fall short on the full rent (I.E.

My tenant has a home studio, and is worried about pictures of their equipment floating out in the web.

That way when you find a deal your coach or mentor could show you why or why not it's a deal, have the financial proof of funds to back the deal, and the lender relationships to get a loan easier.If you do not get help you are stuck in a catch 22 meaning if you actually do find a deal but have limited experience to get passive accredited investors to take a gamble on you they tend to want above market preferred returns to invest.

The zoning map and zoning descriptions can typically be found on your towns web site or by google search. 

@Isaac Wilkins This is the best place on the web for real estate advice, paid or otherwise.