So I read an AirBnB book (not encouraging) but then Brandon Turner's Rental Property Investing kicked me in high gear and I started reading all of the books BP has published. 

City and county governments are fickle beasts prone to changes on a whim.You can just search the web to find multiple municipalities who change directions overnight then back.

I would reach out to them by phone, email, text, facebook, or any other avenue, and I would post a negative review on Google, Yelp, Facebook, and every other web site that lets the public know they refuse to communicate with you.

Yep and interstate sales over the web used to not be Sales Taxable (except for Use tax which almost nobody pays). 

Just study the market using Zillow, Craigslist, Apartments.com, or other web sites.

It will list criminal history but that is less accurate and often incomplete because some states don't publish criminal activity so you may consider a Google search of the applicant to see if anything turns up.

At that point I would have financial freedom and time freedom to make a difference in my community through meaningful service to others.That’s what I would do, and those are some of my dreams which may be very different from your goals and dreams (I find starting with where you want to end up can help you with your decisions along the way).If you ever want to learn more about the lease option strategy we have a meetup in Mesa, Arizona every month that I publish in the events page on the networking tab of BiggerPockets.

Example taken from another web site because I'm not smart enough to explain it clearly:You buy a rental home for $100,000 with $20,000 down.

I was a guest on their podcast recently (episode not yet published) and had a great time with Mike Foster.

@Joseph Franco, Craig was just on the BP podcast show #350 and also published a new book on house hacking, but is too modest to give himself a plug :) You should check out both to get more info if you decide house hacking is for you.