The AAPL has a small certification program and is rapidly expanding to provide at least an educational floor to the industry.

Hi everyone, I put an offer on a legal duplex in Hamilton (just got a zoning verification certificate from city of Hamilton, confirming that  the house is recognized as a 2 family dwelling, legally established non-conforming in zone C of Hamilton mountain area). 

I spoke with DCRA and have reviewed the website - they have confirmed it is legal to rent the unit and will not require a separate certificate of occupancy.

My new tenant has a dog and they have an ESA certificate from doctor.

Then afterwards you will of course want to confirm the accuracy of what was represented to you (that you based your offer on) and get leases, tenant estopple certificates, etc.The seller would typically have X number of days to get you the required docs (after the date of an accepted offer), then you have X no of days to review and respond to any concerns.Appraisal almost always comes after an accepted offer.Prior to offer you might get:rent rollinsurance / taxes Utilities (and who pays what)

When all passed then you have to call for final inspection, which is Certification of Occupancy.

My first suggestion is to join a local real estate investors association, just google and ad your city, so you can find a mentor or partner who has the same interest that you do.Some basic methods of finding properties are:1) Driving for dollars - Drive your farm area looking for vacant and distressed properties2) Place adds in small newspapers or direct mail newsletters3) Place adds on internet sources like craigslist and backpages or Use homemade bandit signs (batman buys houses etc.)4) Other wholesalers5) expire mls listings or FSBOSSome more advanced methods are:1) Working City Code Violations2) Creating a Birdog network3) Tenant evictions list4) Tax certificate sales pre auction list5) Bankruptcies/divorcesOf course you still have foreclosures and probates, but those are the norm and have heavy competitionGood luckBig E

I have numerous certifications within the property management industry and am now looking to meet new contacts that can assist in expanding my current portfolio, identifying homes to flip or working on long term buy and hold deals.

Eva,I have bought tax lien certificates from AZ counties that use RealAuction for the last few years.

The person John Smith, would need to provide a "certificate of Trust" this is the document that legally gives him the power to sell or do any actions of assets the trust owns.. which in this case is this piece of land.. one reason may be that the taxes aren't paid is the trustee does not have sufficient cash on hand to pay those and is waiting for as long as possible before taking out a loan or sells other assets to cover the taxes.good luck,  If the trustee can be located you can submit an offer and see what can be done but get verification, the "certificate of trust" that authorizes him to act on behalf of the trust.