The point of going in with eyes open is to have some idea of whether or not it will be a fruitful venture for me - one that I will both make money at, and enjoy doing.

If you put 200k in REI you may lose it; likewise you may feel you lost it putting it in college.There's an argument that you should have a laser focus, put all your eggs in one basket, and make sure you have a reason not to fail (losing it all).It depends on your propencity towards risk.

It seems that tax liens aren't as fruitful as many have made them sound.

Than when they move, they rent these people's housing out.Therefore they have build "baskets" out of the real estate field.Personally if I started a property management agency I would also sell real estate.

A developer or large scale multi-family investor might have concerns that could be addressed by such a strategy, but I just don't see where the average investor who is conservative (buys smart/makes sensible profit projections) and diversified (not all the eggs in one basket) would need this kind of complex "hedge" for their investments.Your example is "a home" for a "sale close in 9 months" and that sounds like one big project and all of your eggs are in one basket.

I like the strategy you're using, getting into properties with such little $$ down can be very fruitful if you plan properly!

The low hanging fruit is gone.Second problem, I can't find these types of homes with much of a discount.

Harvest the low hanging fruit first!

I asked one of the guys and he said they have been selling the small samples, and mostly were the wives and daughters asking for it.It comes in various scents, from vanilla bean, to fresh air, to sea breeze, to clean and crisp or spring rain to those fruity strawberries etc...and I thought at the time I would try it, just being curious.My concern was also it would repulse some people, I went and read reviews, the brand they sell at the Home Depot is Paint Scentsation.Paint ScentsationIt recommends 1 oz added to 1 gallon of paint, I only used 0.25 oz for a whole gallon and it was pretty mild.I only used it in the two closets, thinking that very few people would object to the scent of a cedar lined closet, and probably prefer that over a musky sweaty closet (especially if they keep the laundry basket there).As for how long it lasts, the web site says:Q.

Hey Matt,I'm sure your trip will be very fruitful with tons of seasoned real estate investors in the windy city.Looking forward to meeting with you, since I'm also currently investing in the south side.Message me when your in town