First and foremost I want a GC who doesn't lie through his teeth to win a job bid or prevent me from firing him for sloppy work and poor leadership of his work crew.I want a person who says he is licensed,bonded,and fully insured to bring me physical proof of said items instead of challenging me,"Don't you trust me pal?".

Tenant can say she is not physically living in the unit but having all of her possessions still in the unit means she still has possession of the unit.

Also, the closest proximity to your homes location. 

Not that me physically being there will actually prevent anything but still.

CON: 1) people are less afraid of eviction (we've never had to evict any of our 9 tenants in CA bec there a less rentals and tenants are aftraid of javing bad recods -- speaking personally, with our rentals at good proximity to bigger cities).  

I am 59 years old and have been in the learning mode full time for about a year since my physical condition has kept me at home.  

Make sure you are physically moving into the new home every time if your getting an FHA loan.

I am hoping to get into purchasing single family homes, renting them out, and ultimately do the same with multi-family properties in areas near NYC (including areas in NJ that are in close proximity to the city). 

So, I do not expect real estate investing to become my full time job, but I plan to pursue it fairly vigorously.We picked downtown Houston initially based on the proximity of two growing industries (oil & gas and medical) that were attracting young professionals (our target renters). 

Do you have any search tips or physical appearance giveaways to look out for?