Essentially you have "dead equity" and a state of California that can be tenant friendly with your 400k property.If your paper investments are with REIT's their returns cycle heavily.

The question is way too broad.A tax LIEN is essentially an IOU that you are buying from the government. 

Lots of them out there that provide essentially the same report (assuming you've had the required home/site inspection and have full access).

Cap rate is essentially the percentage return you would make on your money if you bought it for cash. 

@Sean Andersenwelcome to bigger pockets. its a great tool-we have some great local groups and meetings as well. 

A license does offer a competitive advantage because, like Eric said, you can list your own houses and save part of the commission AND you can collect a commission on the front end essentially lowering your purchase price. 

I am looking to use a tool to help me locate houses for wholesale and flipping.

Essentially I want to transition into Real Estate Investing and Developing in the long run.

Essentially, the Good Faith Estimate is combined with the Truth in Lending (TIL) disclosure, now called the "Loan Estimate," and the HUD-1 settlement statement is combined with the final TIL, now called the "Closing Disclosure."

Any other useful tools for getting a feel for the neighborhoods?