I wonder if that's more of a regional business culture.

Are there any unique circumstances or cultural considerations/preparations to know about?

It really is a great state with natural beauty and pockets of cultural richness.  

Granted the RR has been fairly consistent between 5-10% and even up to 15%, some neighborhoods have been more adamant to meet and negotiate deals (which I believe stems from the demographic, average age of the residential area, and simply the culture of the neighborhood) My skill sets and insight into print marketing has been key in building an emotional response, and thus providing qualified leads.

Ithaca is a beautiful city with a great culture.

It's local government might be behind the curve a bit, but the culture of the city is changing and becoming rather trendy.  

This to me is another example of our we-want-it-now culture and entrepreneurs being unwilling to put forth the effort to grow a business steadily the old fashioned way.  

As far as my experience with managing student housing I myself have recently stayed on a college dormitory for a semester to immerse myself into the culture and to see exactly what the needs of the students their parents and the universities are, and how I can scale my business to meet that demand.

It is just my opinion but, one of the things you might want to do is start by talking to a lender (after you've made some local contacts in clubs etc to immerse yourself in 'the culture' with the experienced).

I'm changing the culture of the building and so inclined to move him along, but due to the state of his unit I will probably have a higher renovation expense on that unit.