Re: the suggested made by @Garth Kukla Here's a link to the tenant screening blog I believe he's talking about:http://www.biggerpockets.com/renewsblog/2013/01/27/tenant-screening-the-ultimate-guide

If you haven't yet, be sure to check out the The Ultimate Beginner's Guide to Real Estate Investing and The BiggerPockets Podcast.

Of course, you need to read The Ultimate Beginners Guide to REI here on BPIf you haven’t already, please read/listen to these books ASAP!

If you haven't already, be sure to check out the The BiggerPockets Ultimate Beginner's GuideThat should be a good place to start!

Ultimately I do not want to do "flips" as a large portion of my business.

Ultimately I do not want to do "flips" as a large portion of my business.

If your building survives, but all the surrounding ones collapse, demand to rent in your area will decrease, and rents will drop (for a while, not forever).If you're considering a three story tuck-under (that is, a building with parking stalls on the first floor and then 2 stories of living space above) and plan to hold it a while, do not buy without a plan to retrofit, which will cost a pretty penny.Single story ranch style home from the 1960s? 

Then you must do a couple other things to ultimately win the game.  

I had a couple of awful experiences with them in the past, in part I suspect, to the agent trying drive up prices, premiums and ultimately commissions for himself. 

I've seen bits and pieces of this subject on BP, but I don't recall seeing anything comprehensive like an "ultimate guide" etc.