The basement (with 10' walls) is in place and was poured with foam-insulated forms to it has massive R-value.

Even if we did I am already on loans just to pay school so adding massive loans for the house would probably stress me out a lot.

Getting there sometimes requires a massive discount vs market values but in some markets the 2% places are popping up all over.I roll known repairs into the mortgage if possible.  

I just hate the thought of having massive gas bills.Any advice would be appreciated.

Osaka, while relatively cheaper, has massive competition.

In California selling an LLC is a massive pain and adds an additional $800 cost. 

Inflation as a byproduct of monetary policy in general doesn't care where the products come from, it will affect them just the same when it comes to your wallet.Add in the massive rise in energy costs, which invariably work their way into the delivery and sale of products both foreign and domestic, and you have more expensive products across the board.

Ditto for it being agent owned..my buyers want nothing to do with that.Now Renae, I went the same route i.e..cards, bandit signs, driving the neighborhoods and tracking down sellers(MASSIVE waste of time-fuggehdabout it)etc...and found them to be inefficient or if they produced the occasional seller, they weren't motivated enough..While I don't know your financial situation, there are 800 #'s and ways to do direct mail that are fairly inexpensive...you'll just have to do some googling....you can get a voice mail for $10/mth and get good lists for under $100 as well as being able to mail direct from your computer....if these mehods are still out of your price range, then find a better paying job(I don't mean to sound so brusque) so you can afford to do direct mail...

I understand @Joshua Dorkin is making a massive move to that city.

Since I'm in the DC Metro area, and everything seems massively over-priced or at least cost prohibitive I'm looking at other markets for some distance investing - primarily Tampa, Atlanta and possibly Phoenix and Denver.