Welcome to Bridgeport (I'm in Black Rock) and please add me to your buyer's list.

I don't care if it is real estate agents, contractors, lenders, pizza makers, service workers, black people, white people, men, women, young, old, blondes, brunettes, fat, skinny, etc.

Not quite as "black and white", but I personally know what it is like to have my credit score torpedoed because of a bogus $100 collection listed on it. 

I look forward to meeting you at a Black Diamond event.

As you can see there is no simple checklist that makes these decisions black and white.

I'd recommend trying to get out to the Black Diamond meeting in Waltham at the end of the month, best one out there right now IMO.  

Clair) [email protected] McClammy, Ranking member (D, Montgomery) [email protected] Ball (R, Madison) [email protected] Black (D, Lawrence, Lauderdale and Colbert) [email protected] Beckman (R, Elmore and Autauga) [email protected] Coleman-Evans (D, Jefferson) [email protected] Drake (R, Jefferson and Shelby) [email protected] England (D, Tuscaloosa) [email protected] Faulker (R, Jefferson) [email protected] Fridy (R, Shelby) [email protected] Givan (D, Jefferson) [email protected] Pettus (R, Lauderdale) [email protected] Rowe (R, Walker and Blount) [email protected]

Going a little further I would recommend checking out the Black Diamond meeting in Waltham (2nd location in Worcester), since you are interested in larger properties the topic this month is commercial financing so a good one to check out (meeting is this Tuesday).  

For example, I'll look at and do deals anywhere in RI, especially as I have some business partners in south county, but for my buy-and-holds I personally stick to northern RI in the vicinity of Providence/Cranston/Warwick just because it's closer to me.Also if you haven't visited a local investing group in our area such as RIREIG (rireig.com) or Black Diamond REI (blackdiamondrei.com) I'd recommend that too as it's a nice complement to Bigger Pockets, meeting people face to face, hearing about the latest news in our markets, etc.And check out the BP podcasts too, they're always entertaining and informative :)

Really don't give a half a hoot how long someone does something or what is common on the black market of note gurus, wrong is still wrong.