Find a specific niche that you are interested in, find a mentor and then educate yourself.  

They had a very specific vision for a dream beach house.

Philadelphia area, Chester county to be specific. 

Find a specific area then find different properties in that area to analyze deals in order to see what works.

@Jason Allen a wise question, but there's no specific industry standards in the SFR area, like there is for MFR.Read below for what we use:Recommend you first figure out the property Class you want to invest in, THEN figure out the corresponding location to invest in.When investing in areas they don’t really know, investors should research the different property Class submarkets.

Also worth noting, unlike the stock market where you can buy into the broader market and the market price is set, real estate you are buying a single specific deal where prices are not set.

That is what I was asking about, not specific numbers.

But they put on things specific to the foreclosure being done property like the power of attorney for the foreclosing company to act for the bank owner. 

I was wondering if anybody had some area specific issues to keep an eye for and what are the BIG problems to avoid.

Don't know this specific "mentor" but I would typically advise to steer away from them.