I was also surprised to see that my zero balances were actually a detriment.

While they may not be truly motivated yet, don't be surprised if one of those comes back to "see if that offer is still good".

While the mentor route is a great one, you'd be surprised how much you can learn by utilizing BP and reading REI books.

So I decided to make some phone calls to get estimates on the repairs and I find a guy that can do the repairs for over $1000 cheaper than Bob's estimate and I agree to have this maintenance man John do the repairs because it's a lot cheaper than Bob's estimate.Meanwhile, without the property owner's consent or even letting the property manager aware (because later he admits that it's a surprise) Bob decides to rent out Diploma Ave. to another tenant.

This has been quite a surprise, as the woman who lives next door and managed the property for the out of state owner told me this today.

Don't be surprised if you don't get any hits your first couple months.

Their knowledge of using Google Voice is surprisingly limited.2.

I've heard a lot of complaints from people who had due diligence inspections done, and spent the next several months finding all kinds of surprises.  

Not finding wet or water stained surfaces however would not surprise me though.

I was surprised to grab a few with decent to high upside (~15-30k total investment and 30-85k after repair value) in last year's tax auction.