It looks like in your state (CT) like my state PA that electricity is de-regulated meaning that the consumer can actually choose the company that generates the electricity separate of the one that maintains the physical lines and handles billing.

I've been able to get a healthy combination of both cashflow and appreciation from all my properties after a little TLC.Happy to share my experiences.

Plenty of dividend-paying stocks out there with solid dividend histories right now, paying well above 10 percent for me doing absolutely nothing.If I can earn 10 percent for doing nothing, I'm sure not interested in earning the same for having to do something, particularly when that something is time consuming, such as a rental.

a lot of times the numbers in those lower cost areas will look great on paper... and then 10 years of cash flow will get consumed by capex, vacancy, turnover, tax increases.

Its the regular consumer that buys/sells a handful, at most, homes in their lifetime. 

@Jon K. regarding disability I think your young and otherwise healthy/competent people can be retrained and I make no exception for Veterans.

Almost all foreclosures are going to be cash deals with healthy rehab budgets attached.

any consumer debt, student loans?

I think bad actors will always be around, there is a need for some consumer protection, but I think regular laws can do this.

On #2, the reason to take a lower interest rate is that I get the price I want for the house (which would be difficult in this interest rate environment) and enable the buyer to purchase the home with lower monthly rates,  where he would not have been able to do so otherwise AND I still make a healthy return on the money until he refinances.