Drive and walk around as well as identify any specific reports on neighborhood demographics/specifics.When you become familiar with the neighborhoods, you'll then have a better idea of what a good deal looks like.

Lots of dollars chasing these.I like these as well, so I've identified a hyper focused neighborhood that has the class and location I like. 

Plus, you need to identify if the property is in a MUD district then head on over to that website to check taxes.

What are your thoughts on ways to:- Identifying the right section 8 areas - Find with experience in section 8 (inspection process, etc)- Identifying good Section 8 properties

I would suggest moving here first, then trying to identify neighborhoods on the upswing.

I’m in the process of identifying a replacement property on one I am selling.

I get letters all the time from investors who only identify the case by the case number.

The travel expense before actually identifying a property for a market research is not deductible as you were not already in trade of business. 

Another tip is to always add the property address or some other identifier in the Subject so you can search/filter on it.To manage comms, if you find that your properties/tenants have a lot of 'stuff' going on at any one time, you just need a summary table or Action Tracker. 

Learning how to accurately identify problems & estimate labor, materials and much more takes years for these guys to master.