Also your question clearly filters out your decisions, to either get started and use what resources are in your reach, and/or celebrate your self for buying new friends for $30,000 which is all to me 100% legit and do as you please and brings happiness and reinforcement into your life.What I get sad about is all the blurry choices people make for themselves either route they go.

Here is when it makes sense to DIY:⦁the amount of money at stake is not large⦁you believe your tax return was accurate⦁you have good records and supporting documentation⦁the issues under audit are relatively straightforward⦁you're not afraid of the IRS⦁you're organized⦁you have skills to persuade people⦁you can keep your cool in adverse situations⦁you have timeYou don't need to hit every item on the above list, but the more the better.Here is when you may benefit from being represented by a professional:⦁the amount of money at stake is large⦁you are not sure whether your tax return was accurate⦁your records and documents are incomplete or missing⦁the issues under audit are complex and controversial⦁you are afraid of the IRS⦁you are disorganized⦁you don't have good persuasion skills⦁you may lose your cool under stress⦁you don't have time or your time is very valuableThe more of the above applies to you, the more reasons you have to consider hiring help.2.

Another technique some find controversial is charging orders between entities.

I'll also be there celebrating Valentines Day with my wife of 40 years.

It's a brand new and unsettled issue that will remain controversial for some time.

But it works somehow, the pay is notoriously low in those firms, and yet there are people knocking on the door wanting to work there accepting low pay for a chance to work with a celebrity. 

We spend a lot of time at the end of each year celebrating our successes in REI and planning for an even better year next year, but sometimes we forget to take stock of our worst move of last year.

The key is to avoid a low appraisal in the first place -- once the appraisal comes in low, there's a very, very good chance there's nothing you can do about it at that point.Here's a controversial post I wrote on the topic last year:http://www.biggerpockets.com/renewsblog/2011/01/19/controlling-and-conquering-your-appraisals/Btw, second appraisals are much easier than the first (assuming the first came in at contract price or higher) -- just hand a copy of the first appraisal to the second appraiser and say, "You're doing a second appraisal for this property, as this is an FHA loan.

There seems (or seemed) to be a lot of controversy surrounding it.

If you recall the recent controversy over the Treasury Department trying to force pricing differences for Fannie/Freddie loans based on DTI, they reason lenders were firing back at that was that different underwriters...even within the same lender...can interpret the DTI (or DSCR) calculation differently.