I lived in Howard County for 20 years and I generally living liked Western Howard County, but with the growth at Fort Meade these areas will be sought after because of the proximity.

Many people have read the same books/listened to the same gurus that say to look for properties where the owner pays the utilities and simply submeter them or charge the tenants on a ratio basis.The truth is, 90% of the time the current owners have read those same books and would have done that years ago if they could.There are several very real problems with separating utilities. 1) Physical/Cost - often the buildings will not accommodate it without tearing into the structure to rewire/repipe which is cost prohibitive.2) Market - sure, just bill the tenants for it on a ratio basis but guess what they can't afford it, or can find cheaper rent elsewhere  3) Legal - sometimes it's not allowed/implementing it involves a lot of regulatory compliance cost4) Administrative - there is actually work and cost involved in reading meters and billing for utility servicesDon't get me wrong, this is a valid strategy for value-add and I have used it successfully.

Once you locate land, there's engineering that needs to be done (civil, soils, electrical, environmental, structural, etc.) environmental issues may need to be addressed, availability of utilities and proximity to parcel, cost of grading, installing utilities, paving, sidewalks, parcel maps or possibly subdivision map.

What should I do before I give him the physical address?

It is a landlords business practices that make a difference not the proximity to a tenant.If you are professional it makes no difference whether they are next door or across the country.The first responsibility of a landlord is to train their tenants to be the type of tenant they want them to be.

Looking into physically distressed MHP properties is also an option, depending on just how distressed they are.Other than the above mentioned scenarios are there any other thoughts on what might turn a MHP owner into a motivated seller?

Proximity to where they are located at around 5-6PM for traveling2. 

I should definitely take advantage of the close proximity to the Bigger Pockets community while I can - Vancouver is a lot closer to the US than Australia! 

Who says you have to physically goto an auction?  

I looked at few MFR properties in Wharton last year, I like the close proximity and country feel.