What advice can you give a newbie like myself that just wants access to quick, affordable, reliable information?

The pick the tenants and own the upgrades required for access.

I guess it would be a matter of easement for access.

You’ll find plenty of friendly, knowledgeable people willing to respond to your posts.I really like the alerts feature that can quickly guide you to current topics that may be of interest: http://www.biggerpockets.com/alertsThere are a few self-contained guides that you can access here: https://www.biggerpockets.com/guides

Hi team,I originally obtained my Oregon RE Broker license in order to have access to the MLS and to be able to run accurate comps for my investing purposes - not to assist people in buying/selling property.

In my opinion, getting the license is a pretty big time (90 hrs pre-licensing courses + exams) and money (between courses and MLS access expect close to 1k startup, maybe less for limited broker) commitment if you haven't gotten into real estate yet.

When we need property access for an inspection or repair or when we need to hear back on a lease renewal offer or when we need to understand the status of a rent payment, silence is the biggest challenge.

They have access to the MLS and can pull historical data easily.

I am not an agent, so I don't have MLS access, and I don't want to annoy an agent every time I want to run the numbers on a property.

MLS access is restricted for agents based upon what Boards they pay for.