I totally agree with your assessment.

I'm looking to build relationships and gain a quick and comprehensive education in local real estate investing in the orange county, riverside county area.  

In my city in Florida you would have a certified home inspector conduct and inspection of the property and provide a comprehensive inspection report with photos along with their findings of any areas of concern.

Go to the county tax assessor online and you can get information, (taxes paid,value house was assessed, the owners name and address.

Smaller loan vendors might offer loans that eventually put their clients in a difficult position because they based their assessments on unrealistic assumptions.

I review the current assessed value and then compare that to my purchase price.

If you aren't able to walk through the property, you take the risk of not really knowing what you are buying, and you have to assess the risk v. reward accordingly. 

I thought you St Petersburg & Clearwater investors would enjoy this very comprehensive market update from the Pinellas Realtor Organization: http://proview.tampabayrealtor.com/wp-content/uploads/2015/09/08-2015-Pinellas-County-Real-Estate-Statistics.pdf

I bet Baltimore has both a higher tax rate and higher assessments relative to the true value.

It depends on my need for cash and my assessment of the cuurent  and near term/midterm markets.