After registering, properties are inspected every 10-ish years confirm they meet basic maintenance and safety standards. 

@Fantasia BowserYou have been given the proper answer, but on a side note, as it appears you may not be entirely familiar with basic contract law, you may be lacking some critical knowledge in other investing areas too so it would be wise to consider partnering on your first 5 or 6 deals with an active local investor so you can learn how to properly enter and exit a transaction without causing yourself potentially serious ramifications. 

thank you BenThank you JohnRegarding self-employment over a w-2 jobWhen I was just out of the Marine Corps and I had this job at Johnson Controls engineering firm because I was a science major, had a lot of calculus physics and chemistryMy job was to sell to developers and builders That wanted air and water  control devices and I was on straight commission basicallyI had like $20,000 in commissions that they  didn't pay me for I got really upset and at 25 yrs of age I didn't have very much EQ, and my emotions got the best me I basically even went to a lawyer and asked  how can I get my 20,000 in commissions here's the proof they owe me the moneyMy lawyer says it's gonna cost you 10,000 in legal fees to sue them at a minimum he's going to need that upfront as a retainerAnd then there was no guarantees I would get the 20 kThat's why I made the commitment at 25 never ever ever be a W-2 employee and I work as a 1099 alwaysThen I found a real estate 60-year-old mentor who taught me everything from distressed property to foreclosures to divorce to bankruptcy to probateI work for five hundred a week for 2 and a half years and then opened up my own business and did approximately 28 seller interviews a weekMy closing ratio in the beginning wasn't very good because I sucked at itBut with the good coaching from my teacher I got better and better and betterI quit after 2 1/2 years and started my own company on a shoestring it wasn't easyBut I made over hundred thousand dollars my first year if it wasn't for the teacher I would not know how to run a business and I would not know how to hire people and I would not know how to market and I would not know how to negotiateAnd you never stop learning because I made a Ton of money I was 29 and I made over 1 million and a quarter I rolled it back into the company which was a mistakeBut live and learn!

We are very interested in a Buy and Hold strategy.I do have some basic construction skills, so I can spot things in homes we are looking to purchase and estimate how much it might cost to repair.  

I do have knowledge on basic general behavior.

I have sent more direct mail (used the same strategy), basically the same letter, but the calls have decreased in 3 months to the point that only about 2-3 people called on my last campaign (previous calls would be 20-30 after campaign). 

Once you feel comfortable with the basics, move on to the next.

thx for all the info i plan to start doing the drive bys next weekend for now i am looking on GPSat the different areas that the homes are available I'm thinking massapequa because its not to far out from the city and i see a lot of big boats out there so i basically for now because since I'm not to familiar with real estate on long island I'm looking to see which houses have the biggest boats in the back because I'm thinking the more big boats the more rich people and possibly the demand will be higher when i do decide to flip the house... i guess ill pick my houses first and than look into the municipalities that they are located in because i plan to have a list of 5 or 6 homes that i WOULD BUY but just buy the one that is at the best bid because i don't want to do all the homework and get into a biding war over one house so i plan on having a range of options so i don't overpay or walk away empty handed

And when you do call them back I would advise you to have a basic research done on the property you are calling about before you actually talk to them because they are under the impression that you know everything about their property. 

They can only partner with a Cuban national, who has majority control (which basically means, the government controls) It was only in the last couple of years that Cuban nationals were even able to exchange property.