Assault with a deadly weapon and shooting on an occupied dwelling tend to only happen in the worst.Having lived there for over 10 years location is definitely #1 as the neighborhood quality can change pretty quickly from street to street, so make sure you work with someone who really knows the area.Other than that, be sure to do your due diligence on the property itself as @Abraham Bar suggested.

Also, where is your property located?

Since there are many experienced investor (hopefully with knowledge of this area), I would like to ask for any advice on locations, things that you wish you would have known, or any suggestions in general are greatly appreciated.

Because of the differences in zoning across your property this may be quite a bit of work especially out of the cities where it is located.  

When looking at a house how do you identify weather something is a deal or not, is it location , price , condition.

Hey @David Martin Jr I saw your other post about that location.

Hi Al, I have been going through the CHA website trying to locate their rent schedules (what they pay for a 1,2, or 3 bedroom) with no luck.

Anyone with experience renting out space to billboard companies?My family owns a nice lot, about 1 acre, along the major highway in my area (Southeast Iowa).In the future, I plan to split the lot and build two new hom...

I don't know where you're located  but many towns  here in Massachusetts can have a mixture of all of these..  

It has to be stored there for 12 months I believe and you must provide them with the location.