Overall, I just think it is of utmost impotence that although a deal may look good on paper, that you have an understanding of the city/ town.

My friend, I understand how you feel.

and yes I now have a prescreening message for any tenant leads so they have a clear understanding of what i require and then ask them to do a prescreening phone call for an interview if they are really interested then they can fill ip the application form etc.  

One of the first things you can do is understand how to make money with real estate investing and how that compares to the stock market.

I don't need any templates, I just need some guidance on understanding the content itself. 

As always make sure to understand what your investing in, tax consequences and terms of the offering

I understand that whatever price that they sell the WA house, we would need to buy a CA house for equal or greater value to qualify for 1031.

Not implying your agent is taking advantage of your beginner knowledge just to offload a property and get dual agency commissions, but again, might not be the worst idea in the world to have someone in the Bigger Pockets community who's local/understands the Charlotte market to take a look at the deal you're getting ready to move forward on.As far as inspectors, I would recommend one that we use for our business that is in the Charlotte/surrounding areas.Precision Inspection Services - Steven Lee - 704-575-2917

I try to stay (or convince my wife, if I'm honest) in a different beach town every trip to better understand where I'd like to buy.

But, def understand what you're saying on the out of state piece.