Foundation of 'WHAT' and 'WHO' to know

[Jayson Terpenning]

Hey everyone, i'm hoping that maybe a few you out there could answer a few questions i have.

To just jump right in, i really what to know WHAT i should be looking for and Who i should know.

what i mean is... (WHAT) how do i know if an area in a city is doing well in its RE. for example. there's a place not to far from a friends hows that i could fix up. ( this is not what i want to do ) i could have it aprased, buy it and fix it then try to sell it or rent it. But how can do some dew diligence on the place. how can i find out how rent is doing or if the city is growing etc.

The other (WHO) is, who should i know that will help... i mean, should i find a RE agent that i trust and is good at what he does to help me out in finding places... Are there attorneys i should know... brokers... etc. I think you understand what i mean. What kind of team should i put together so to speak, and why.

I've been reading up on a lot of Robert T. Kiyosaki's books and things and trying to get some ideas. There's a lot to this so i plan on taking this very slow and keep up with the other posts here.

Thanks for your help and any added advice on making a sollid foundation would be most welcome.