I was really uncertain and now I can move forward confidently! 

Request the "official" version, from their accountant, which is filed with their tax return.Other than that, a good property inspector should point you in the right direction as far as what areas could give you problems and what capital improvements you should make to avoid things breaking up later.

There was a story about it in The Star a few days ago: http://www.indystar.com/story/news/2015/12/14/indy...I think there is a great deal of potential for it to be good, but I'm not overly confident in the follow through.

Gives me even more confidence.

Those are what will point the right direction for you.The way you protect yourself from a market downturn is to vet the market to make sure it is resistant (i.e. not single industry as Detroit was), vet the neighborhood (improving?

How much improvement are you planning to do to the lots?  

We double checked the market rents in the area, and am fairly confident we can create what we need in income from the rents.

I would also like to gather knowledge of beginner mistakes that I should avoid and just expand my knowledge of real estate investing as much as I can and help establish myself and become comfortable and confident in my investments.  

We've even seen a .25-.375 improvement in MBS prices since close on Wednesday.But, I'd like to draw attention to the Fed's own projections for the median funds rate over the next 3 years. 

So, the tenants’ credit scores should be improving as they rent.