Hey Damion, I am an agent and investor in the Phila area and would be happy to connect with you about the local market.

I was thinking perhaps it would be easier to just bring a general contractor to walk the site and provide an estimate on all the rehab costs, rather than to find separate contractors for each specialized task.For those of you who have worked on fixer-uppers, did you bring a general contractor to walk the property with you and give an estimate on rehab costs?

I am interested to know, what tool or tools or even steps do many of you experienced investors rely on when analyzing the numbers to determine if the listing is worth contacting an agent for a showing? 

Then there are a ton of location based forums here that can help provide you with additional context. 

Hire a Reliable Real Estate Agent (you!)

Hello folks in Georgia / Atlanta,The Bigger Pockets Book On Rental Property Investing provides access to a comprehensive list of 34 forms that would be useful to a landlord including things like a lease agreement, application, late rent notice, move-in-move-out agreement, estoppel agreement, tenant phone questionnaire, pet addendum, etc. etc. etc.  

I recently talked to a local insurance agent that has been assisting some of the out of town buyers with insurance policies and the majority of them have purchased these properties sight unseen without any knowledge of the neighborhood they're in, school district, condition of the home itself apart from the pictures with fresh paint and new countertop or even seeing the homes surrounding it that have been condemned by the city. 

@Kinnari Pandya to answer your question on the "best" market to invest in....Whatever agent posts on here - their market is the best market. 

Partnering with Jamie Munden provided valuable local insights, making this an attractive and strategic investment for Partner Driven.

Partnering with Heather provided valuable local insights, making this an attractive and strategic investment for Partner Driven.