And on the point about owning tools, I have a funny story in which I was interviewing a GC who said he doesn't actually own the tools and that he "out sources" them.

The key to the long horizon investor is that a retail purchase now will be less than a retail sale later (later being undefined but not influenced by artificial pressure).   

It will depend on the property so yes there is wiggle room, the key to having criteria is to have realistic criteria that will actually show up in the market at some point. 

Your scores for a mortgage company will be different from an auto loan company which will be different from a credit card company etc.Consumers who are not familiar with the different algorithms are always surprised that their mortgage fico scores are lower than the scores they get from other sources. 

In our area it is MLS, lockbox key, State and NAR like it or not. 

@Charles Soper The key is to find it right in BiggerPockets community.

Austin, I dont know of any meetups as I am an out of State Investor...I agree with Jake Jernigan that a good property manager can be a good source of information.

I have read a good deal and many sources say to hold property in the name of an LCC. 

The key is being able to demonstrate your intent to hold it for investment when you purchased it.This why @Frank Adams talked about 2 years. 

What is a good source to learn note investing from?