Here are the fees: court cost filing (to Wake county (WC) courts), cost of publication (to Cary News), Substitute Trustee's Commission (to Kellan & Pettit, P.A.), documentary stamps (WC), secured obligations (the bank!)

There is absolutely no substitute for boots on the ground in that market AND sufficient hands-on skills or a team in place to accomplish the mission.

This is another weapon, not a substitute.

This person is going to come to your home, perform work and if he get's hurt you could get sued and waiver or not you will still have a problem on your hands.A renter's insurance policy is not a substitute for a landlord policy or a homeowner's policy of some kind.

There's no substitute for driving around an area to really know it.

The level of commitment seems real, the dates set, but of course no amount of good feelings is a businesslike substitute for locking it down legally and financially, then we'll take down our ad and notify other respondents.

All are valuable tools but they are not a substitute for doing deals.

In this case, I am substituting volatility for risk, which isn't always a fair comparison but, the thing I learned is that our general understanding of the macroeconomics of a city doesn't always hold true. 

What you've found out is flipping isn't the answer as a substitute for income...cash flow is, but you need to flip to get the cash to buy the cash flow.This isn't a "Chicken and egg" scenario though.Here's how I do/did it:1 - Take your initial money (seed money) and grow it by flipping it and reinvesting the profit back into it.2 - Repeat step until you reach a certain point (only you can decide this $ Number) where you no longer need to grow your seed money. 

I substitute teach in Victorville, so I'm available most days 3pm and later.