And as tax certificates, worst case it's a low interest loan.It's assessed at $100 in the property appraiser web site!  

Web, Direct Mail and Referral/Co-wholesales are my three top ways to get deals. 

As a web programmer, I am acquainted with webhosting issues :grin:

The HOA decides to raise dues, the rental cap is met, a special assessment gets slapped on your association and BAMN your cash flow just went out the window.Condos are, in my mind, a gamble, your investment is at the mercy of others decisions and often those other peoples interests aren't in line with mine. 

I am just starting to build a plan to start a REI business for myself.My plan is to have REI be my main source of income in 3 years.I have be reading a lot, searching the web and looking for as much information I can find to help educate me on the life of a REI.I recently found the BP and it has been a great resource and help with my ongoing search for REI knowledge and experiences...

Anyway to get to your questions: 1) Got started with the vacation homes, love this niche and will stay here. 2) Bought in the area because of family who are a second line of defense to my contractors. 3) Yep, we knew Portland pretty well, but only the highlights, there are still a number of emerging neighborhoods and markets here. 4) Learning about the area - I forced myself to do a Blog on my web site for the vacation rental which helped me learn more, I also subscribes to the local magazines and small community newspapers, they give me a wierd look when I tell them my adress, but hey, it is a GREAT source of info. 5) Relied on family who knew the area and my RE broker, he is fantastic. 6) The lessons learned - know ALL the expenses up front, that 10% for maintenance you do not think you need to budget, you do, I know.

Also, can you change the web address of my blog post from test to something else?

I have tenants deposit it directly and I can see in on the bank web site just minutes after they make the deposit.

Or find one location with a $20 fee for web login to watch/hear speakers and see a roving videographer of vendors at the Summit.

But, we actually even have web developers who use our system (one guy actually used to build real estate investor websites for other people on wordpress for a living... now uses Carrot because it's easier and he's getting better results on our system vs. his own sites).