You can even do some of this yourself, but you probably will miss a lot of things if you don't have a professional assisting you.Best of luck!

The seller produces a document showing there is no leak (i think by a professional).

Make sure you talk to your tax professional. 

Do you have her original application? 

Once you know the income you can calculate your NOI and then apply a whatever cap rate is applicable for your area and product type to find the ARV, and you can get a sense of what you need to get the property for to make it a deal. 

Smaller properties are more stable in that people stay longer (traveling professionals is who you should be marketing to), they are less seasonal and maintain rates year-round, and even if they do get trashed or something gets stolen its a lot smaller recovery cost.

These are professionals with additional training and a stricter code of ethics.

The biggest point to understand is that you can build a professional team in any city. 

There is no shortage of professionals here that have been exactly where you are.

If you are the prime and pulling the permit you need GLI and possibly workers comp and possibly professional liability.