I form my LLCs using an online company - takes about 15 minutes and has worked just fine. 

@Jo-Ann Lapin do you know if there are any auctions (tax or foreclosure) that still take place in person or are they all conducted online now?

This is a delicate game they have to play in increasing the interest rates and I don't think they're being as aggressive as they would like to be.

There are a ton of resources online to search demographics, crime rates, growth, etc.

To be honest, I find it rare that an investor will BRRRR without having any 'skin in the game' at the end.

I use Landlordstation.com to screen, check social media/online presence, call employers/last landlords, and this info I kept from another post on BP a while back.

Gets you in the game and learning the systems.

Because we are too new and we worried about everything is online, we chickened out eventually.

So I know this already sounds like the question that's been asked forever in the real estate game, but how can someone come up with 25% of these multis for down payment?

If a tenant 'disappears', it's usually because of financial issues and that they have already been served disconnect notices by the utility company and once power and heat get turned off, they figure that the game is over and move out, leaving a mess and broken pipes behind (especially in the freezing winter temps).