They can barely afford their teachers, let alone new facilities.

Basically I wanted to know what books and quotes had had the greatest effect on his life to this point and here was his response on 10/8/12:“Alright, Andy, here you go.BooksThe Greatest Salesman in the World by Og MandidoI've read this one twice and it deeply impacted my thinking about success and the basic principles of success; takes 10 months to read as instructedThe 21 Irrefutable Laws of Leadership by John MaxwellI've read this one at least 3 or 4 times; phenomenal leadership teacher; I've read probably a dozen of his books Rich Dad, Poor Dad by Robert KiyosakiDeeply influenced my ideas about money, investments, and business; I've read 4 or 5 of his books and highly recommend playing his Cash Flow Game to beginning investorsThe Richest Man in Babylon by George ClasonA huge influence on my ideas about money managementThe 7 Habits of Highly Effective People by Stephen CoveyPhenomenal book about success in lifeThe Four Hour Work Week by Tim FerrisThis book is insane; a book about the balance of what wealth and lifestyle really means; this is a paradigm changerThe Millionaire Mind by Thomas StanleyExcellent research based book on what a millionaire really looks like; about consumerism and money managementHow To Win Friends and Influence People by Dale CarnegieFoundational book about people skillsThe E-Myth by Michael GerberAn excellent book about business systemsSkill With People by Les GiblinA very short and very practical book about people skillsThe Traveler's Gift by Andy AndrewsA great fiction book about success principlesThink and Grow Rich by Napoleon HillFoundational book about wealth mentalityA couple of biographies that I remember off the top of my head:Sam Walton, Made in America by Sam WaltonTrump, The Art of the Deal by Donald TrumpAnd some biographies that I don't remember the title but their general stories had profound effects on my thinking: Andrew Carnegie, Martin Luther King Jr, Teddy Roosevelt, and Mohandas Gandhi.Quotes - I've referenced ones that I've come back to over and over throughout my life."

Or a general contractor, who comes highly recommended, has done many gut projects and has been known to spot those things Either way, you seem to have your original question well answered by your own experience - the best teacher of all (:

Note: I am not saying mentors, partners, or teachers.

When the student is ready the teacher will appearYours is a great story and lesson for others; pay attention to your surroundings and keep your eye out for opportunity.

I am nearing retirement as a public school teacher.

don't know who those guys are do they have last names.some of the travelling and on line guru stuff is rehashed old info that is not relevant to being not legal.I have seen some do very well once they have gone through the hands on training that some of the coachs do.. its not cheap and its a year long process.. but it is every thing you need to know to succeed .. its frankly more the individual than it is the teacher.. not everyone is cut out to be in this business... it appears much easier than it really is. 

My thought was that would be a great starting point for a rental amount I could expect from a policeman/teacher/blue-collar trending upward kind of tenant. 

This is a short version of my original question: No Real Estate Investment experience, forced to start it due to health and other issues but hard to find trustable partner/teacher/mentor. 

I worked with several rating systems like this in my time as a language teacher, with the two most prominent being the University of Cambridge Local Examination Syndicate in the UK and the University of Michigan English Language Institute here in the USA.In starting this thread, I was thinking that the confusing task of trying to assign letter grades to neighborhoods accurately would be helped if we could come up with something like the rating rubric I use at my job, but instead applied to real estate.