At the end of the phone call I told him it would be more than $16k to redeem & I needed to sit down do a calculation on the exact amount.  28 minutes later I texted him my calculation (taxes plus interest + value of repairs plus interest = $20,549.76) and asked for him to provide me with his mailing address so I can send him a formal notice of the cost to redeem by certified mail.  

Building the right team and assembly line can streamline the process, providing  guidance and support as you navigate a new market and grow your investment portfolio.

And since this all feeds into the experience, please don't be the host that ruins the experience by asking the guests to provide all their own cleaning supplies, toilet paper, etc.  

Packwood and the Ponderosa Community look particularly interesting.You all provided great criteria for choosing a location.

Are there any investors or real estate agents who can provide their thoughts on the area?

Tell her that you need to sign before you leave town or the deal is up and you will not renew the lease (some states are sticklers on landlords not renewing so make sure you're in accordance with your state laws).A deadline should provide an incentive for her to get back to you. 

Not every skip tracing company is set up to accurately provide that information and/or charges extra to do so.

It's calculated by dividing the NOI by the property value.While cap rates provide a quick valuation metric, they don't account for future income streams.

They might offer alternatives like real estate investment trusts (REITs) or crowdfunding, providing a kind of indirect link to real estate.

With no disrespect intended to BP, most of the folks I run into who use the various calculators provided here have NO real understanding of how to analyze an actual deal.Much in the way one can't become a Jedi without building a lightsaber, you won't become a confident and complete real estate investor until you can build your own analysis spreadsheet.