This obviously can make it difficult to then find the drive, energy, and time for something that needs to be a top priority such as real estate.

I do believe in 50 years it will return to a nice bluecollar neighborhood when energy prices rebound, but I would not invest there today.  

-Is it worth it to go ahead and do it and bite the bullet on the early withdrawal penalty?

I'd go with new hollow core doors.They look pretty good and are more energy efficient.  

Through some unexpected flow of energy we ended up in Vero Beach and signed a contract for a condo there.  

This is already happening throughout Midwest as energy companies are cutting their workforce.

She is high energy, very knowledgeable and can answer just about any question you might have.Joe, well to follow up with my above reply - my biggest surprise, which might not have been that huge since I was aware of the risk, is that we had to evict one of the tenants. 

I'm just sort of feeling like I'm spending too much time/mental energy dealing with folks who don't stand a chance.

I'm thinking if the seller is in that bad a shape financially he would be better off to bite the bullet and give the house back to the bank.  

I eat coconut oil for energy.