Nothing can replace direct first hand knowledge and you can obtain through the "enemy method" and comb the listings in the different areas in guest mode on Airbnb/VRBO. 

I have even seen Apartments .com be the same, but they do allow renters to ultimately save $ in application fees by applying to multiple places...With that said, myself & most other investors or coworkers in my brokerage use MySmartMove.com with Transunion.

Welcome @Ray Combs!

My plan is to continue combing the same list of ~3500 addresses.

On top of hours combing through listing and analyzing deals and visiting potential properties, I have struggled with getting a house under contract and securing a deal. 

Reach out to sellers directly and/or comb through the MLS daily so you're ready to go when the deal you want pops up.

I decided to get my feet wet by looking for something very inexpensive in the location I'm most familiar with, which is New Orleans, so that I can make mistakes and learn with way less money at stake than I would here in the Bay Area.All I've done so far is read the David Greene and Brandon Turner books and combed through hundreds of listings on Zillow in New Orleans and several other cities recommended in the "Pick Markets" section linked at the top of the page, so I don't really know anything yet.

I'm not an attorney myself but I do have one combing through the fine print of the contract at the moment.

@Warrick Combs The LLC holds the note?

It is their job to go through the house with a fine tooth comb and point out all code violations, confirm all mechanical hook ups, are the floors buckling?