Whereas the payback for ridge and soffit vents, and reflective material in the attic, could be as low as five years.

Many smaller outfits although qualified could take 2-3 days to finish,  opening up potential risk to water damage in case of surprise rain.Are you getting ridge vent installed?

The paint seemed very thick and got tacky quickly leaving brush marks, also 4 hours later certain spots seemed so shrivel up and leave fine ridges all over.

I had jacked up the insulation to about 24" (90% plus of HEAT GAIN is through the roof), I had SOLAR SCREENS on all south and west facing windows, all of my windows and doors were well caulked to prevent air leaks, all of my units had electronic/automatic set-back thermostats, whenever I replaced a roof I went with a ridge vent to improve air flow through the attic.

http://www.realtor.com/realestateandhomes-detail/3053-Bracken-Woods-Ln_Cincinnati_OH_45211_1107018392 How can this property be so cheap, besides being in a bad neighborhood or needing a complete rehab?

I'm an amateur at it, but they turn out pretty good and "pop" much more than a simple point and shoot camera.I'm using:Nikon D7000AF-S Nikkor 12-24mm 1:4GPhotomatix Pro (to merge the HDR shots)Adobe Lightroom for photo editing.This house was shot with my camera http://wheelhouseproperties.com/2013/01/1666-n-ridge-circle/This house was shot by a prohttp://wheelhouseproperties.com/2012/01/4435-e-oxford-lane/I quit using the pro to save costs.

What I do beyond that is to use longer screws and thenprimarily install the screws on the Tops of the ridges - rather than down on the flat.

Hey @Tyler Roger Goble, I own some rentals in the same area.I started investing in the Sneads ferry/holly ridge area a couple years ago while stationed there.  

However, if you take a look for yourself, the house is huge and sits on beautiful property just outside of Manhattan - Pound Ridge Home.

I'm largely basing this off of what a friend of mine did while at University (bought a run-down, but livable house with a group of friends for $75,000, fixed it up over four years)For example, (I just picked a random house on Realtor.com in Bay Ridge, Brooklyn with 5+ bedrooms for less than $1,000,000).