I am still fairly young and the time I started looking into real estate was right around the bubble burst and crash, just worked out that way for me time wise.

Your best bet is to crash on someone's couch until you have a job then start hunting for your own place.

You may have had $170K in appreciation the last few years, but how much of that appreciation was just digging yourself out from the market crash that caused you to go underwater in the first place?

I've tried to do some of my own layouts using the program that is on lowes website but, it kept crashing. 

Also you forgot another regional factor, SW Florida is one of the few appreciating markets that hasn't fully recovered due to the insane overdevelopment going into the crash.

While price swings from the crash to the recovery were violent, they were relatively more stable vs.

Also I would ask the lenders here on BP, have you been able to get loans for customers/clients who had foreclosures from the crash? 

I upgraded to PRO because I thought it was a small price to pay for all the information that BP has been able to offer.I was in the mortgage business for about 10 years before the crash so I have a little bit of insight but so many things have changed.I am basically looking to set myself up for retirement.

Some success but took a hit in FL market during the crash.

Jeff G. is alluding to those who are still borrowing heavily BEFORE the expected crash.