As much research as I've been doing im beginning to feel I have paralysis by analysis. 

I just gave them all my requirements, price range, west of Indianapolis, good schools and near hospital if possible, then checked address on neighborhoodscout.com to double check all the details of the area.

Asking price is $69,900 but per my analysis I would need to negotiate down to $60,000 for it to be right.  

It's a wonderfully informative book explaining in detail our situation of investing in a distant market.

It's all give and take and cost/benefit analysis you need to consider/decide upon.As others have said, go to local REI meetings, meetups, or just try to connect with people here and see what value you can provide these people in exchange for their help.Maybe you can re-design their website for them, or do some bookkeeping, or clean their office, or whatever skill you have that you think they might benefit from. 

 @Abigail Santamaria can you PM @Alicia Marks and me with the details of the person?

I'm done with my paralysis analysis and plan on making our first purchase before the end of the year.

I have some contacts in AL if you can give me some details.

My company manages multifamily communities (100-300 units) nationwide and we would like to start performing detailed, onsite property inspections that include an interview with the onsite property managers.

-What was the details of your first deal, and how did you scale up from that point on?