In my opinion we have bad public policy in this country that leads to an over concentration of poor people in many urban areas, which then leads to high crime, substance abuse, poor schools, etc.  

In my opinion, you can find better product/returnsout of state.I have a meetup group that actually concentrates on out of state investments mostly apartment complexes.Feel free to take a look:meetup.com/Los-Gatos-Real-Estate-Networking-Meetup/Regards,Boris

Concentrating on assisting others will only be a distraction until you achieve your own personal success goals. 

Except for some in Texas, they seem to concentrate in low growth areas.  

FYI: a bank's appetite for loans has many factors: portfolio concentration, industry expertise, availability of funds/balance sheet to lend, legal lending limit (capitalization), local competition, cost of fund, etc. 

In terms of the real estate, concentrate on the passive investments as mentioned above: notes, NNN leases, syndications.

I believe in spreading the wealth and vehemently oppose any concentration of wealth in few hands, including tax lien sales and farmland ownership.

I would concentrate on providing professional quality advice and solutions rather than just spreading bad news.

we bought a home, unoccupied for a long time 6 -8 months and no heat on. during my inspection i pulled a piece of paneling off the wall and exposed the wallboard behind the paneling and found mold. we were able to pitch a lower price and still closed with the bank. once we owned it . we removed the paneling, sprayed concentrated well clorine on the effected walls using a paint sprayer and left the home for several weeks closed up. then started to air the place out. we then used a primer called jammer ( what they use after a fire ) to seal up the walls and proceded to paint the basement and kept the dehumiftifier on after that. so far 4 years have passed and no signs of reoccourance.

Since then, I've been concentrating on broker/agent recruiting but sellers continue to sign up as they find us.