It would be difficult to get any inquiries for MTR with an empty property even if you note that it will be furnished because they don’t know what “furnished” is going to look like (style, comfort level, etc.)’If your ideal target market is travel nurses I would start there.

I guess they did not clean the unit for over 3 years and did not call the old property management company when things started to break. 

Look at what happened in FL when they started using Chinese sheetrocks.

As far as a company to use for skip tracing, find one that has flexible pricing and no high-volume minimums if you're just starting out.

Apologies, I'm just starting with real estate, however if they're offering a guarantee, isn't that a good thing?

I’ll start attending our local meetups though just to start building that network.

No current liens but these properties have tax deeds, not warranty deeds if that matters.That as-is value is going to make obtaining financing more difficult for sure.Financing options drop off pretty steeply below a certain dollar amount because foreclosure costs for lenders can be significant.Your best bet may be to connect with some local private lenders (local investor meetups/referrals are a good starting point for this) or local banks.

Does anyone have a good source of inventory/ any advice for just getting started?

I had an account on BiggerPockets a decade ago, but starting fresh!

Is it worth it and are there any helpful tips you can share for getting started?