Your intro will make you popular, everyone needs a good carpenter in this business.I'm new too, and would say read all you can, post in forums a lot, which helps you to network, and watch as many podcasts as possible!

Finding a suitable partner may be more challenging, but if you're interested in making money in RE we have enough in common to at least discuss.  

Is this something I can challenge?

Personally, I've dealt with hoard houses a bit  and it's not the mess that's the challenge, it's the mindset that makes me extremely hesitant to match any promises. 

Places like Dallas/Fort Worth, San Francisco, Seattle, Chicago, Phoenix, Atlanta, Miami, and Denver are all popular areas.If you are hoping to hear only from national investors is pretty hard but I can tell you that I have been studying for about 8 months on a full time basis and this is what I have learned.  

The FNMA condo guidelines are all here  https://www.fanniemae.com/singlefamily/project-eli...Condo projects and properties which don't meet Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac warrantability standards are known as non-warrantable.Non-warrantable condos are more challenging to borrow against.Typically, a condo is considered warrantable if:No single entity owns more than 10% of the units in a project, including the developerAt least 51% of the units are owner-occupiedFewer than 15% of the units are in arrears with their association duesThere is no litigation in which the homeowners association (HOA) is namedCommercial space accounts is 25 percent or less of the total building square footageWhat  you want is lender that will lend on NON warrantable condo project. 

As David said, there is the smartmove and similar programs which lets you direct tenants to a website to order the report for you, they are very popular for small landlords with one or two properties.  

Need to refinance a rehab we completed in May and have  been running into challenges with many banks due to seasoning requirements to go off the appraised value and deed in LLC.

It was surprisingly easy.My major challenge is that I have been managing major rehabs from half-way across the world.

Ugh, so today was a big challenge that, sadly, made me pause and question how the heck I'm going to do real estate with a new baby.