As soon as I walked in i chuckled at the very distinct smell of air freshener and marijuana.On another property, it wasn't what we found at the property, but what we found at the Police department and building and safety.

When you have a good understanding of your RE interests and goals, start making calls to listing agents, private sellers, lenders, property managers, tax assessors, town road crews, water/sewer departments, etc, etc.Talk to them, not just about the property you may have called about but general info pertaining to their specialty.

The local zoning office or building department will be better able to assist you.

I would also suggest using an attorney.Yes banks will sell notes, especially when they are upside down in them.I have to assume the bank is not getting paid, so call them and ask to speak to someone in the delinquent department.

RBC made a policy choice last year to fill a gap most of the Big-5 Canadian banks have: 5 & 6 unit properties are "technically" commercial, but the commercial lending department won't touch anything <500K {possibly higher in TO and Vancouver} and really do not like to bother with deals <1-million.

I got a degree in English and spent most of my time in the Music and Theatre department.

The Federal Housing Administration (FHA), which is part of the Department of Housing and Urban Development (HUD), administers various single family mortgage insurance programs.

You also need to develop a good working relationship with your local building department and city officials (city council members, etc).

You need to contact your state's "Department of State" Corporation Bureau to find out what the rules are.

The best advise I can give is to contact the utilities engineering department directly.In my experience some utility companies do a 2 to 3 year assessment of how much power the new building will use.