IMO violence in the media and therefore in western culture, along with other social dysfunction prevalent in society today, is a huge and unspoken part of the problem.

all good advice, assuming all municipalities are the same, which they are not. here in western new york, every place is different from the next. one government may allow you to do everything without a permit and couldn't care less about anything, and the very next will have regulations so bad that you wouldn't drive thru the damn place, let alone buy a house there. i do whatever i want, whenever i want and the less these people know about what you are doing, the better. sounds like i am doing something " illegal", but if i own the place, i have paid my dues and i should be able to do what i want with it. i bought one house that had an added on room on the back, and it was so bad, i was quite sure it was " unpermitted". well, long story short, i talked to the building code guy and he said that it was unpermitted, and i would have to get a permit to tear it down, as was my plan. i asked him why i would have to get a permit to tear down something that they didn't even know was there. he decided to let me tear it down without a permit. these people can be worked with if you treat them right, but personally, i will try to get away with as much as i can, but then again, thats my nature

Brian - can you explain what you mean by appreciation outstripped cash flow long ago in Western NY?

Now I love it, having the mindset to learn more from anyone and everyone I come in contact has allowed me to be a even better agent for all my investors as well as a student to real estate.New Western Acquistions

Most window companies will charge $400 per window and that will be everything, removal and disposal of old and Tight fit and caulking to your house.But in the Western States they are about 6-8 weeks out on ordering!!!

He is asking upfront fee of $620 to be paid by Western Union which sounds fishy to me.

I'm also going to be operating in Western NY. 

I'm analyzing a deal in Western MD, specifically Cumberland.  

Also, great place to create your lead list and drill down criteria.However, it won't help you if you're looking for data outside the western states. 

For those who are interested, here are two links for info on the Phoenix market:John Burns Real Estate Consulting (free market analysis newsletter subscription; mainly western states):http://www.realestateconsulting.com/blog/adam-artunian/phoenix-risingRL Brown Report Phoenix Housing (Land and Foreclsoure data):http://www.rlbrownreports.com/====Also, FYI, these are real estate market report/data sites that I use that you may want to copy and paste and keep :Construction Monitor (maintains reports/data on building permits and construction activity in local markets):https://www.constructionmonitor.com/REOExpo (June 12-15/Ft Worth, Tx):http://www.reoexpo.org/about/Real Estate Economics (free local market webinars):http://www.realestateeconomics.com/Real Estate Economy Watch:http://www.realestateeconomywatch.com/SiteX (high level foreclosure/lein/NOD/Title/Lead Generation data):http://www.sitexdata.com/Home/index.aspxBuilder Magazine:http://www.builderonline.com/news/ForeclosureRadar:http://www.foreclosureradar.com/Marcus & Millichap (free market newsletters and webinars):http://www.nationalmultihousinggroup.com/HousingWire:http://www.housingwire.com/National Association of Realtors (Daily E-Newsletter; you don't need to be a member to receive this):https://reg.realtor.org/roreg.nsf/prepreg?