That being said, prior to the seaweed and drug cartel invasion of Mexico, we went there every couple years and loved it. 

I observe how they look at the property, what their demeanor tells me, what their car tells me, what their dress tells me, what their hygiene tells me, etc.

Some locals making a killing and it is a cartel - a license only opens up when an existing one closes.)Sonoma has taken a different route. 1.

There are also very large transaction costs on both sides of the purchase (explicitly or implicitly) and large organizations with political ties to maintain the cartel for real estate commissions.  

The impression that rents don't move lower is owed much more to the incentive that landlords and owners, as a class, have to loosely act in cartel-like fashion and 'squeeze' the renter even if the market is moving a little bit against them, than anything else. 

Buying oil from a cartel that hates us doesnt make sense.

Someone could end up in the property for years with no payments and not be evicted.As long as she isn't on the lame from a mexican cartel leader, (if she is, double your insurance coverage) and see what her story is.I always get at least 10% down on the lease options I do and I have people lining up at the door.

The way real estate is transacted is still pretty ancient, inefficient, and largely depends on a bunch of cartels that many of us are members of (Local RE Boards) that have a choke hold on each market.

I was initially dismissing the conversation about getting an older car, telling myself, "they've all gone off on a tangent and whether or not to sell my car is not what I was asking."

Just as I see having a central banking cartel running things as an opportunity now that I better understand it.