Would it be considered acceptable or ridiculous to ask an accredited and very active RE investor who is interested in a deal you are looking at (whom you hope to develop a positive relationship with and or/ partner or invest with you) to sign a non-circumvention agreement, prior to them seeing the deal AND prior to having the deal in question under contract? 

We do, however, have some unknowns that we want to investigate before closIng, and have an inspectIon period once the contract is sIgned.While thIs has been developing, we’ve been driving for dollars and mailing to property owners.

Part of getting into REI is so that we can spend more of our time together rather than spending more than half our day at other jobs and commuting, getting to work together is a big part of why we want to take this on (and the potential that RE Investing has for financial freedom).My Concerns: I originally thought I would develop myself as a contractor and do most of the work myself at first, but when I consider the time constraints (holding a house way longer to do the work myself, and the quality of work suffering) I realize this isn't an optimal plan.

Who don't you develop that source?

The Money Show mainly talks about how to develop good financial habits that are needed by a real estate investor.

Assuming all things are equal for these two props, but they are just in different areas of the same city, I would look at things like economic development (new projects, new businesses moving in, large companies opening facilities), proximity to job centers where people can earn the wage they'd need to rent the property (being close to a lot of very low-paying jobs isn't very helpful if you're looking at a nicer property, the people in the area have to be able to afford it), walkability, neighborhood amenities, etc.

@Jay Hinrichs I remember over 20 years ago when the developed the McCarthy Ranch area and they built tech buildings on top of old slaughter house sites... 

We will most likely rent an apt for the first year but we want a head start on where to look for lowest tax areas and possibly new developments that are happening.

I'm currently trying to sell it, and some strange issues have come up.The house is a single-family according to the County, but shares a driveway with two townhouses, and the developer set it up as a condominium complex in the legal description. 

We are coming down next week to look at some projects in Philadelphia from Monday to Wednesday but we will be driving by Cleveland after that.Or you yourself or do you know of any entrepreneurs, active developers, or people who do have extensive knowledge of the Cleveland real estate market for investing?