Here are some tips we can suggest:

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1. Places to look for a bus:

We found ours on the facebook marketplace. Other sites that I constantly searched were: govdeals.com, craigslist.org, publicsurplus.com,ebid.nashville.gov, ebay.com, and others.   

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Look for a bus in the South. So we know that we wanted to live fulltime in our "skoolie" and travel the US. We learned that the Northern States are to be avoided due to the amount of rust school busses will have from the salt/sand from the snow. 

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Be patient because the right bus will come along. I made arrangements to travel to Waco, Tx and buy a bus and the day before booking a flight, I confirmed with the seller about an address and time to meet to find out he sold it to another buyer. We lost the "bid war" of two school buses via govdeals.com. And finally, right before taking a trip to India, I found the ideal bus I was looking for nearby and then many people (about 4 people) called during the time I checked the bus and talked to the owner. 

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2. Choose a bus that you like. We decided to choose a flat nose bus because that style brings the closest to a similar view to an RV or charter bus. Also, we (mainly me) wanted a bus with a handicap door to have access to the side and build a mini "garage" storage room for all my tools. LENGHT We really wanted to have a 10 window bus (8 plus a rear side door) because we thought that was the best size, not too long or too short. Yes, longer buses are more common, cheaper and easily to find. But they will also consist of more expenses during the conversion and travel, plus harder for me to drive in certain areas. 

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Draw sketches often. I have been drawing multiple sketches of floor plans to help me visualize what I want inside my "skoolie." I have a notebook with multiple plans; floorplan, electrical, plumbing and last but not least a 3D view with google SketchUp.  

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3. Do a lot of research about this: engine/transmission

After reviewing many forums in skoolie.net and skoolienation a facebook group, I came to the conclusion to look for the following engines: 

A Cummins 8.3 or Cummins 5.9

International DT466, DT408, DT360 

Transmission to get.
Allison 2000, MT643, MD3060 AND AVOID Allison 545 transmissions due to low torque (not good for highways and mountains)