If you determine the risk is low it may be ok to skip.

Two other people and myself are looking to buy our first rental property together and are trying to determine the best structure to set up the agreement (such as an LLC).  

Also, how do I determine the value of a property based on location? 

It's true in some cases but it ignores the 2 best opportunities for smaller investors that have the luxury of cherry picking:1) Stuff that doesn't fit their model.

It be nice if I could present each property with  the block of times not taken yet and let them pick.  

The problem is, there are very few rentals available on the market right now (per Zillow and other websites) so I am having a difficult time determining what rents go for in this area.

If you can pick up some of those or expand to a 4 plex, you're slowly on your way.Good luck!

I would add that determining what you want to do in real estate is also important.

Then do your own driving for dollars and utilice the things that get to know the market and then determine your income!  

It also has some built in calculators as well.Rentometer.com - You also can use this to assist in determining rent ranges.Permits and Enforcement searches - http://permitsandcases.indy.gov/citizenaccess/This is my absolute favorite tool for research.