Especially appreciate the online Property Analysis tool.

I bet if you investigate, you'll find something less-than-natural happened here.

I have online access to my county's Public Trustee's records database, but I'm having trouble finding any Notice of Default etc records.

Many public records offices are online.

My place looks nicer than a lot of the rentals in the neighborhood, so I can get a little bet rent and I can be a little more selective when it comes to choosing tenants.

The Fannie Mae guidelines are available on-line from Allregs.com and yes they can be read.

The safest bet in my opinion for the novice is liquidity.

Search online and this forum. the information is out there just need to find it. also ask friends and family if they ever purchased some items in the past and read those... i told my parents about my plans and my mother bought a couple of programs in the past where i learned some howto stuff... also on these forums there is a forum dedicated to rate books and other investment tools to see if they are worth it. do more online searching than anything... make sure u dont buy something for it just to collect dust. find out everything for free while u can and make a decision if you really need to buy a book. check out creoline.com also. it's a creative online investing site they advertise products there too but i jus read the free articles.

Does anyone have any recommendations when it comes to lenders (specific banks, credit unions, online, etc.)?

If the appraiser kills a deal, I'll bet you that the realtor and the mortgage broker will NEVER use that appraiser again.