I know this is a complete different path than what I have been striving for these past couple years but as I chase down financial freedom, I know that REI is the way to go.

Ask anyone, especially cash flow investors around here, who would pay these crazy prices.In NYC, there's way too much money from overseas chasing too few properties.

From a fellow Ohioian and tennis player, great work so far.

Hey @Chase Ezell and @Zachery Buffin, glad to hear Birmingham is getting some more love!

Again, this might end up not being a bad thing for you -- it stands to reason that the higher the bar to entry, the fewer players there are.What I would do is call a lawyer in your area who loudly and proudly announced on his website that he deals with foreclosures and ask him where you should start learning about the foreclosure process in Worcester County.New Hampshire's even more interesting.

Getting a referral from a fellow investor is OK, however that contractor may be good for the referee, but could be not so good for someone else.Contractors are special individuals - they too are chasing the buck and trying to get the best deal possible.You may want to write specifications  of what you want done - once you know what you want you can better compare bids from workman.I have found that meeting real people with real tools at a time they are buying supplies and materials at Home Depot 5:30 - 6 am picking up stuff to do their daily work is sometimes an effective way to find the craftsman you are looking for at a price that will serve you well.Getting referrals is OK - but how do you know that they didn't over-charge the person who is referring you to them?

I’m interested to hear if people are beginning to take more risk on repairs, leasing risk, etc. in chase of returns, or are people sitting on the sidelines?  

Networking in Chicago - where/how did you find a reliable contractor/handyman/other key players?  

A team of 100 or so players (plus coaches, trainers, management) isn't really going to cause the tremendous impact that everyone is hoping for.

So when you had these hot beds of real estate speculation and borrowers could walk with the only thing they lose is FICO score and in many cases they put nothing down.. well they just walked.. and it became like chasing a falling knife it just got bad and kept getting worse.on the investor side.. you had thousands of investors in short term notes that could not get refinanced.. and probably in your line of work syndicators and other institutional investors who were stuck and could not refi and the lenders chose to foreclose.. especially if lets say Rialto bought your little bank that went under.. they were brutal on chasing he security .