I am wondering for people doing this, what are your success stories with getting properties locked up and what are some or all of your disappointments?  

They are voted in every election cycle by the majority of deadbeat “ gimme free crap” townspeople who voted the same way every year since the dawn of time because they think somehow a politician will make their life easier and improve social conditions .. and every year they are disappointed 

In fact, I was so disappointed, I wrote a long rant in the RDPD forums (which has probably been deleted by now).I love RDPD, the book that "started it all" for us.

I've tried so many different ways only to be disappointed by no-shows, hacks, and insanely high job quotes that make your eyes pop out of your head in disbelief.

I do expect there will be at least a flattening for a while as the economy shakes itself out, but the people in my area hoping for killer deals to come out of this are probably going to be disappointed 

I'd think it's more of a matter of disappointment and not recognizing market changes that are used to evaluate a current estimate of value.

It will not destroy us financially, but I am bitterly disappointed in myself.

I am also in a very similar position and have been disappointed by the "paying off your mortgage is a waste of time" responses. 

I've reached out to quite a few and I've just been disappointed with my experiences.  

Our appraisal came in at $140,000, which was very disappointing, especially considering we were in a multiple offer situation.  :-(  At first we agreed to split the difference with the buyer coming up with the cash.