I've seen the work of countless people who charge less and most use outdated techniques that are dangerous to your site.

I have ugly toffee colored cabinets in my current house and am entertaining painting them and then lining them with a "glazing" look... always like to hear different techniques.

I used to be an agent years ago, so I know some of the techniques, but it sounds like the game has changed.

What techniques would you all suggest to get past this speed bump and purchase our first property?

Practicing the concepts and techniques talked about and taught on BP on my own house taught me many lessons that I will use to begin to build a portfolio.

Selecting what to do has much to do with you, your ablities, goals, credit, money avaialble and personal preferrences, there is no better property per se.I suggest you study your tail off, get very good grades and stand out among your peers first and not be so concerned with investing now so much but pick up the basics and techniques a little as you go.

Is there some hidden catch or hidden risk you were uncomfortable with that ultimately made you shy away from this technique?  

It wasn't until the advent of manufactured trusses that 'wide open spaces' became commonplace (Although some of the building techniques in Japanese architecture and borrowed in very high-end bungalow architecture had some incredibly innovative ways to create open spaces, but I digress...)Before removing walls in any structure, you should consult a professional... especially if some dumbass wholesaler is telling you that the brick siding means that there are no load bearing walls!

I usually have a slab of either fresh salmon or smoked salmon or elk Jerkey as a warming gift. we call it Oregon Porch time.. this is our demographic this is who you play to.and you simply cannot learn these techniques on line or on BP... this is very advanced and well thought out marketing.

So that limits our techniques of diverting water... although fixing the gutters may do the trick.I didn't check if there's a window at the point of entry, but certainly will later.