. $640 ; rather than $500, and it may happen like that because both the appraisar and buyer thinks the same.... look like this house is $650 so I should be able to get it too, without merits of being flipped.It's recently happened in area where I am buying and selling too.So yes interpreting the comp sometmes becomes an art by itself rather than like a straightforward technical explanation.

Combining the physical attributes of a site with the market demographics can be a black art and can very much make or break the future of a business.       

Real estate is a bit more art than science and that usually wreaks havoc on the physce of an engineer.

I actually just got back from visiting my family & attending some wealth/financial events at Art Basel this past wknd!

Add some flowers, art work, color in the kichen, some items of interest.

If you want to coast through with a BA in Fine Arts rather than getting a BS in CS or CE, who selected that track? 

Same problems, over and over again.If you learn the art of off-market acquisition (directly from the Seller) with Seller Financing, you will completely circumvent all the hassles you described, and you will be able to grow your portfolio at the rate YOU want to grow it--not the rate at which the banks will let you.  

Some things can be done cheap -- dollar store for small kitchen items, for example -- but the extra $ for couch, dining table, art/decor, etc makes all the difference. 

Screening is an art. 

Long story short, my husband worked at Dartmouth, 20 years ago--and I swore to never come back...there were no or very very little hair care products for African Americans in Hanover/Lebanon back then...Anyway, I earned my doctorate in psychology, became a licensed clinical psychologist and yearned for wide open spaces and a place to do my art--I now work for a distance learning institution (work from home) and my husband is back working at Dartmouth.