In the Western Chicago Suburbs (Westmont, Villa Park, Wheaton, Lombard, Addison, etc...) there are many apartment buildings located right next to a clustering of all the same exact built buildings, typically each with a different landlord/owner. 

This is typically local realtors, zillow, BP, Craigslist and all the usual marketing real estate websites.

I am not sure if I need to be shooting for a ratio or percentage of the total price of the home that would be a typical rule of thumb or not.

I one had a real estate license (20 some years ago), but all they wanted me to do was open the white pages and make phone calls...needless to say in my mid 20's (before the internet) that wasn't enough action...since the only other real estate experience was owning my own house....I have reading a lot, listening to the podcast, and attending some of the webinars and am soaking it all in....I would like to build for our retirement, just figuring out how i want to do it!!

But they only travel laterally 3 feet to search for food, typically.

Typically, plans stamped by an engineer or architect are required.

Allowances can be made for seasonal employment, typical for the building trades and agriculture, if documented by the lender.When analyzing the probability of continued employment, the lender must examine the borrower’s past employment record qualifications for the position previous training and education, and the employer’s confirmation of continued employment. 

@Khenan Newton Realtors typically have some searching capabilities through title reps that solicit their business or through their own MLS access.

Whenever you receive that little white card of death from the assessors office it is time to file your appeal, Appeals have a filing deadline.

The entire concept of this should not dissuade you from investing in a certain state, and is typically only a problem in small and medium sized cities.Hope this helps.