Presumably, it's a cash business for the most part, i.e. restaurants, and not only do buyers want to see business records, the business broker who represented the buyer had me sit in the business to observe it for two weeks.

Is really more an observation about the whole country not specifically bout investing, Mexico is a very corrupt country and I don`t believe real estate investing is excluded from that corruption.

At least a 10X factor in my observation vs pre-covid/insanity years.

If so, early observations?

However, I have observed several clients over the years blow through 401Ks and inherited funds late in life.

In my observation, the liquidity of REITs leads to significantly more volatility - just look at what happened to REIT values at the beginning of covid.

Basements are a rarity in the markets I frequent here in CA.An observation from this forum, many contractors and experienced REI have advised against finishing basements because of low ROI and the comments "it's not if a basement has water intrusion it's when"

However, I have also been tracking and observing the same shift he explains.Going against the narrative of the times is tough and you will usually not make a lot of friends that way.

A very general observation, but a place to start with your search.

The courthouse steps can present disadvantages over MLS, or online auctions in some observable ways.Court auctions are  subject to overbidding in the current Wake County market which is under supplied on lower priced inventory.