Unfortunately I think that real estate will perform in a very similar way to how the stock market has...many people are still flinching from 2008-2009 and they have missed most or all of the run up...just when they capitulate to the FOMO and go back into the market is when we will start seeing a crest.This is a great reason for everyone to consider the time risk elements to their strategy..i.e. are you buying the right property in the right market but are married to a timeline (flip, wholesale etc) that could take a profitable buy and hold deal and turn it into a money loser if the market flattens or drops?

(a lot of my clients have maybe 100k cash saved but make 20k a year and live in Pasadena, ca where a fixer upper costs about $650k) : they really want to get started in real estate and are looking for every way possible to pin-point a place where they can stretch their 100k... so, one of the conversations I have with them is: how can you invest a portion of that 100k in yourself to increase your income. maybe schooling, maybe starting a business, maybe a course on whole-selling- or all of the above on whole selling.... but it is very difficult - not impossible, but difficult to create an empire with 100k saved and making very little income). * the alternative: you learn, you research while investing in yourself, and then getting a better job or business that pays you $50k, $75k or $100k + per year.

and having your tenants pay part or all of your mortgage- thus freeing up money for the next DP on an investment property; and finally, if you were considering all types/sources of properties, priority consideration for HUD, Fannie/ Freddie properties, and a couple of rehab loan options (203K, HomeStyle) if you need to bring the house up to your standards.

If it's longer than 70, won't be much.The sizing isn't so much an issue, 18ga should do the job, but what rating/sheathing/etc does the wire have to be, considering it'll be in a cavity.

Maybe put a webcam on a stick and work it into the cavity behind that wall to see what you have. 

I heard but have not confirmed that Baltimore or all of MD made lead paint illegal after1950.

Your level of risk (variation or volatility in return) depends on, among other things, your degree of leverage (mortgage or all cash purchase).Stock market investors can buy stocks on margin, meaning they borrow some of the money, and that amplifies their gains or their losses.

Right down a cavity where the vent from the kitchen comes up through the walls.

Remember, it's only libel if it is NOT TRUE.Legal definition:  Libel is the written or broadcast form of defamation, distinguished from slander, which is oral defamation.

Here are some of the variables that would need to be answered:- area you are looking to work- prices in that area- are you wholesaling, flipping or buy and holding- are you using cash, HML, conventional loans, private moneyOnce you answer some or all of these you can seek out some more help from BP members