I have not worked the Youngstown market, its reputation is similar to Detroit.

I have a few reputable people that will write letters of recommendation.

I live in a smaller town so I want to be fair and establish a good relationship/reputation in the area.

From RealPage 10-K page 14, they say "The principal competitive factors in our industry include total cost of ownership, level of integration with property management systems, ease of implementation, product functionality and scope, performance, security, scalability and reliability of service, brand and reputation, sales and marketing capabilities and financial resources of the provider.

You will find a list of reputable private lenders, many focused on California.

The other maybe even more important issue is to manage your reputation which can make or break your invesring career.

Many times I've heard from folks I deal with or have taught that it was their presentation that tipped the scales in a transaction.Even when it doesn't, it builds your reputation as a knowledgeable professional --- and that's what may seal the next deal.

HML's, in my opion have a bad reputation due to the lack of professionalism, honesty and integrity of those who basically enter the arena with a sence of ruthlessness about profits driven by greed than any public service, not all, but enough to taint the barrel.Wearing a suit doesn't make you a professional, neither does a bank account, a college education or having an office.

Hope this helps.I've been doing a lot of research on this the past year, and this is what I've found (I could be wrong of course):Material prices aren't too much different around the country if you shop around for suppliers (there are differences in areas where shipping is more difficult and costly), and labor prices are surprisingly consistent (though there is a range of about 25-35%) if you ignore the high priced areas.Obviously, there will be regional differences in both labor and materials (especially in places where climate, soil and natural conditions impact building codes), but if you ignore places like NY, NJ, California, etc, you'll find that prices generally fall within 25-50%.I see you're in NJ, so you can probably throw the prices I mention out the window, but for a surprisingly large % of the country (especially between the coasts), prices will be pretty consistent within a 25-35% range.All that said, this is a topic I'm very interested in, and would love other data points, as I could be wrong

I would inspect the property with a reputable plumber and adjust your offer accordingly.