Increase your NetworkYour real estate license adds to your reputation and credibility.

This way you can leverage their experience, get lending approved, reputation to speak to lenders/brokers/property managers/etc and a ton more benefits.

That's the kind of crazy risk I do without in my property investing.If you want a rehab estimate from any even close to being a reputable contractor, make sure you've agreed on a price for his time beforehand.

It's best to either hire your own on-site managers are find a local management company that is reputable.

You will see that home values are lower and the areas usually have poorer reputations (nuisance crimes, poverty, distressed housing, etc.)That should get you started.

I want to get familiar with the area, drive around, see the neighborhoods, talk to the locals, go to real state meetings, build a team, find a reputable contractor, look at many properties, and if after I do all of that I feel like I can move forward with my plan, then I’ll buy a cheap reasonable property that needs work and I’ll get it fix up so I can live in it.

If they like the property I have them go to a web site(pick your favorite) and do a background and credit check.

There's a lot of resources on the web with cursory searches.Megan, Furnished Finder is a great travel nurse resource to gauge prices for rooms and entire places in Lincoln. 

The two of us would then rent it through a reputable experienced vaca agent. 

He went through one of the local RE training programs and I've met with him a few times (he has a good reputation and I trust him).