Don't let the loud headlines of the few bad apples ruin it for you. 

If you're in the sub $250k price range, no established agent is going to ruin their reputation just to sell you a property and earn a $4k max commission.

At least one BR rug is ruined. 

This will not ruin your prospects.

That would sometimes lead to me trying to push too hard on a buyer and ruining a potential relationship, or creating bidding war situations which would also upset folks I was working with.

Not worth the risk of ruining the relationship if things go south

They will ruin your home and cost you!

Survived two stage four cancers during construction and afterword.

Areas that I have been looking are:- Detroit MI- Cleveland OH- Birmingham ALHowever, when I think about pros and cons, the pro's are that it seems these properties fit my budget of 40K out of pocket but the cons are that the neighborhoods appear to be full of crime and could lead to ruining my actual investment.

Old and dying from colon cancer, but no money for painkillers?