@Matthew Paul -  This got my blood boiling just reading it. 

The duplex got broken into (door kicked off the frame) and we found some paraphernalia and some blood on the floor (use your imagination). 

This is what I call a community, it was almost like you came knocking on my door to bring me a cup of sugar.

My failing to research contractors resulted in me now being in the middle of a court case trying to get blood from a stone.

I did pretty much all the renovations myself on A shoestring budget and paid my Local handyman to help Out On things beyond my pay grade like jacking up the house and laying flooring . 7 months later ( after a lot of sweat and blood) it had new finishes   Fresh paint pergo flooring on flat ( somewhat) level floors  it was Safer looked so much better .

That's the hard part for any of us in the helping professions, we can't make the diabetic eat less sugar, or the buyer or seller actually act in a way that maximizes their benefit.

I think many people on BP are still doing RE because it gets in your blood and they haven't invented a  cure yet! 

If the fee is $10,000 either way, the bank takes a blood bath on the $50K house....but they come out okay on the property with $1/4 million in equity. 

Here in Mass, we must disclose when the agent is representing "kin", which is defined as blood/marriage relationships or a business partner.  

The first being 1934 Sugar Grove Ave (Look it up on Zillow), that's how you make money in Riverside!