If I were interested in "historic employment data" that's what I would goggle.There are building starts, building permits, new home sales, real estate sales and real estate loans closed on a monthly and quarterly basis.All economic indicators, GNP, CPI etc can be justified as a watch list for real estate activities.

The screening I did was to contact their previous LL and their employers and verify their paycheck and salary.Quite unsure if they are professional tenants.

You have to know codes, know safety procedures, and know IRS, state, and local tax and employment procedures.

I'm not Jake, but I can answer based on my own experience...Unless you plan to work with HML, private lenders or portfolio lenders, you likely won't be able to get financing for the first couple years that you're in the business full-time, as lenders will require two years of tax returns as a self-employed before they will consider that income on your application.So, expect that it will be two successful years before you can qualify for any type of conventional financing.

The house was on a dirt road and the seller insisted the city engineer had told her how much it would be per owner for the assessment when they put the paved street in.

There are other strategies you could employ to get around your issues.

Wouldn't I want to know vacancy rates and employment figures then, regardless of neighborhood?

., redevelopment, new employers, there can be huge variations.I'd suggest you start your search by first finding an area where you think you want to invest.

More important to her is her VERY good transaction coordinator who is self employed does not work for any brokerage. 

Are you self-employed?