Have sort of felt paralyzed as I want to invest locally, but the Bay Area is astronomically high priced.

The returns  people would see if they took that $25K and invested it in direct mail would be astronomical compared to whatever they are going to get out of Than.  

Little things like some paint, or maybe a functional kitchen/bathroom that's just ugly and outdated would be fine - because we can always do basic stuff as we go (or paying for renovations on a single room wouldn't be so astronomical and could help us learn).It is tempting though - as there are a LOT of properties in my area for $100-120k and I could easily just get on a 203K loan and have 40-50k to hire contractors.

He fills in their form and writes down $9,782.The house has 1,200 sqft living space and the ducts are in decent shape.Contractors will look you in the eye and quote astronomical prices.

If your getting astronomical numbers, get on board with a local lumber yard.

I'm an astronomy and science nut, an active member of the Denver Astronomical Society here in town, and work as a consultant in the contact center industry.  

.$35k-$95k/sf on structural/rough-in fix-ups.It sucks to Fix & Flip in PHX right now...no cheap properties available and construction costs are astronomical!...

It will be astronomical favoring LA if you are in this for the long haul.

Depending your market, if the insurance is not available/astronomically high, this could change buyer's qualifying factors or just deter them all together.

Our taxes are astronomical and with the fiscal disaster of Chicago and Illinois, it will only get worse.It is actually really weird.