A reliable contractor and an exceptional agent can make all the difference when things go wrong.The Outcome:This was a humbling experience, and I still wonder if I could have done anything differently (besides the insurance). 

A friend and I created one recently:https://drive.google.com/file/...It was meant to compare costs between different lenders, but you can use it to just see costs from one lender as well.

If it's the difference between $1800 and $2200 but you have to cover utilities too, not worth it. 

I agree, the podcasts have made a difference in my knowledge of real estate. 

I have a few brand new homes popping out of the ground in Canby Oregon.. msut of Portland proper is very old the new builds tend to be skinnies or expensive . 

If you think about it in any industry less transparency and more friction in the transaction will increase fees/commission vs reducing them.I like the idea as an investor of having different agents, a team of agents maybe 3-4 bringing me deals, but I think less of that will happen now as all will have to have you sign some kind of agreement up front. 

Now I am brand new to real estate so this could be dumb but I'm reading Brandon Turners "Rental Property Investing" book and I was intrigued by chapter 3 where he list out 4 plans to start with when getting into real estate.

For those of you who have used virtual tours in your listing's have you seen a difference in how quickly properties sell or rent?

Also, I've recently learned about these different REI tactics.

You don't need to save up $100K or quit your job today in order to become a successful investor. I started 23 years ago and bought my first property with 3.5% down using an FHA loan. I had to borrow the down payment f...