State Farm will still write (as of a couple months ago), but they limited it to newer buildings. 

On one of their apartment buildings that they owned in cash, they pulled a loan out on a cash-out refinance and bought property here in cash. 

Since I'm building new, I decided to go for a LEED certification since I'm already half way there since I'm building with Solar and passive home features.

I'd say it takes about 3-5 years to really build up good credit where the company is taken seriously by lenders. 

Also, stay tuned to the BiggerPockets Podcast and try to attend your local REI meetups to build up a strong network.

@Ken Barrett I am only dealing with 2 machines total. 1 dryer and 1 washer in an 8 unit building.

I do leave 6" solid oak or mahogany trim in historic buildings if it's in good shape but we paint or replace clam shell from the 50's and 60's.

@Munjal Adhvaryuare you able to travel in person to your target market to build a team and look at properties?

I am a Realtor in the North Atlanta market and have a client looking to build a custom home.

Mapping and GIS are great too, but we'll stick to the nuts and bolts here.My question is, with regard to providing high quality, investment-savvy title research, do you also make a habit of jumping down to City Hall or another series of municipal buildings to check for zoning, permitting, and utility issues in addition to your courthouse work?