Industrial can become very involved and you need to understand the business, to some extent that you lease to in order to identify your risks.I'd say Tim has a good grasp of retail operations of smaller retailers, he's not just operating in real estate he is serving retailers and must be aware of their risks, operations and potential to succeed in order to assess his risks.Commercial takes in a large swath of government and business activities, much is beyond the scope of small investors on BP, not saying no one can't go there, but it takes knowledge and expertise in a much broader arena than residential properties.

Does anyone have good suggestions for identifying a few good property managers in another city to interview?

If your property is identified as being in the revised flood plain obtaining any loan from any federally insured lender will require flood insurance.

Still, you still have an opportunity to make money as long as you buy the condo at a price low enough to make a profit.Learn a particular neighborhood very well, learn the construction prices, and after learning the neighborhood and prices,  you'll be able to identify what a good opportunity is.In the same time, identify few of the top agents in your area that understand flips and hire one to bring you deals from the MLS.

It's where they learn, Long term investing and investing in potential isn't taught to my knowledge by the "common guru", it's much easier to tell the stories of that great deal, buying at 50% of their perceived value and making a killing (using any means necessary BTW) which sells the myth of real estate investing.If you think about it, you don't buy stock at discounted prices below what the market commands, the profit is made by identifying "market values" that have greater potential.

And how do you find an Agent that is experienced enough to identify potential investment properties that fit your criteria?

If it were me, I would do nothing until I identify a specific property to re-invest in that makes sense.

I guess my concern is storing their PII (personally identifiable information) like SSN and DoB for long periods of time after they've moved. 

You could blur out identifying information. 

Within the sub-markets we have targeted, we have identified specific "micro-markets" that further define and drive RE sales.