., but in this case, the reason they have so many roses (and other flowers) for so cheap is that they have absolutely perfect year-round climate for growing and lots of unused land to devote (which I guess is why their drug trade is also much larger than that which originates in the U.S.).If I can buy them for a buck, what does it cost them?

If they weren't involved with the other property they were going off of information provided by the buyer and that other listing broker/agent.In this climate I would have never accepted such a contingency.Many times sellers or investors will talk themselves into taking a HIGHER offer and will put up with contingencies for it.What's that saying in the investing world??

-Underestimating the significance of properly setup utilities in a cold climate: Buying a rental building which has owner paid utilities or even a building which has tenant paid heat but is so inefficient it costs almost as much as rent to heat the house/ The tenant will pay the heating bill way before rent.

I had been looking for 5 months and was beginning to think that perhaps my offers were unreasonable for the current market climate - we had very strict parameters however that we could not really stray from , as it is important to us to be able to provide housing my parent in laws , and we will also be occupying a unit ourselves.

We actually shared an article on the topic last week on the BiggerPockets Blog:How Picking Rental Markets Based on Climate Can Make You More Money

Push comes to shove something will be done to eventually turn it around.I doubt the manufacturing sector will return but they will probably be able to attract other industries if they create a climate that encourages business development.It may be 5 - 10years before real change happens though.

I wouldn't qualify for a hml right now in today's lending climate, which is why I'm focused on wholesaling presently, so I wouldn't be approaching them for myself.

Hopefully Q4 of 2010 is a lead-in to the same climate for 2011!

In cold climates freeze damage is a big concern as the properties have almost always been vacant at least through one winter.

You may not have to worry about this much since you are in Atlanta, but if you are in a climate where it gets real cold during the winter, the siding will contract.