As criteria such as price, neighborhood etc differ for a primary residence as opposed to a investment property, i was wondering if anybody would share their thoughts on strategies to find a "good deal" on a house in a more upscale neighborhood one might actually want to live in?

I take a more pro-active approach when it comes to my investments and I haven't received any crazy emergency in approximately 3 years...I couldn't imagine paying a property management company.

Robert, seems the same here in Michigan, but what do I know, I have had to rent only 3 times so far, 2 in May with a decent demand and one in winter with kind of the same demand, although the one in winter was in a more desirable area though.

We may have a Japanese style or Carter style stagflation or we may have a good amount of inflation that would be tied to a more robust recovery.

Any thoughts on a more common situation?

My brother and I ended up with a not insignificant inheritance (though not the kind to quit your day job on or anything) so I decided to shift away from a heating up stock market into a more beat-up RE market.My wife is from the Bozeman, MT area and the place really grew on me.

Would having the carpets professionally cleaned augment the situation in a more cost-effective manner?

With that being said; here are a couple of the best ways to start up on a shoestring.First, simply getting out and networking with others in the industry; this will get you acquainted with the big players in your market and you'll get a ton of experience along the way.Second, for a more direct marketing route, you could try door knocking.

It could have been a more interesting lesson if they really didn't actually know how to paint, charged you $500, then you had to pay someone else $$$ + new paint supplies to redo everything that they had previously done.

Rather than continually waste time & resources posting the ads to Craigslist, I'd sign up for Postlets and use that as a more than suitable replacement to the flag fest you've experienced on CL.