In NJ, I did most of the title research online myself via public resources, and had a pretty good system built up, and successfully flipped 6 to 8 houses last year.

I would bet the OP was expecting for the transaction to be under the table, all cash, no taxes, no insurance, no W9, no reporting -- which is not that uncommon in LA.

I'd love to hear from folks using online apps and having applicants pay for credit/criminal checks themselves.

My wife and I are in the process of taking online real estate courses but working full time jobs and three smaller kids, its difficult to complete and retain information.The goal is to start small and then invest in more multi-family home.

At BP, not only can you network with other investors, BP has tons of great information including free online courses and videos for you to watch and learn from.

If that's the case, then when a contract is signed, your attorney or title company would submit the contract info here to be recorded for public/government record keeping,  essentially making the transaction legal and binding in the eyes of Uncle Sam.I could totally be wrong, as I'm not familiar with NYC RE, but if I were a betting man I'd say this is probably pretty close.

Your best bet to acquire rentals with a low down is seller financing with old landlords who want out of fixing toilets.

Karen, I would bet that the capital improvements are going to raise the fair market value of the property by as much as, and probably more than, they are going to increase the basis.  

Tax information (available online in my county)4.

At BP, you can access great information such as free online videos and courses while networking with other investors.