Fascinating stuff.The book also got me thinking about Zillow as a company and how its grown on me over the years.  

This is not rocket science.

Everything is sold right off the MLS, and the only marketing we do is direct to local buyer's agents who we have worked with in the past.Our average DOM is 17 days, with about half our properties going to agents we know (and market to) and about half going to buyers/agents who just find the property on the MLS.I guess what I'm saying is that it's not rocket science -- have a great product at a great price and it will sell quickly off the MLS, though it doesn't hurt to build relationships and market directly to past agents you've worked with.

And honestly, 1000 letters one time is a pittance if direct mail is going to be your deal source.Better as was mentioned earlier to use a smaller list and mail more frequently.Not trying to be a wet blanket here, but direct mail marketing is part art and part science.

I've had my nose in a book or in a screen at least 8 hours a day reading and learning as much as I could about this fascinating business.I have only had one property under contract, but it didn't work out.

Really depends on what kind of data is available for your area, what's online, etc, but for the most part it's not rocket science.

Please feel free to stop by to drop some words of wisdom/tips/knowledge/real estate science on me anytime that you can think of something that may be useful to me as a new investor.BY THE WAY: if anyone would be interested in allowing me to birddog for you on some deals, I am in Texas (Dallas area) and I need all of the experience AND money that I can aquire so that I can get some reserve cash stored AND I am seeking as many personal mentors as possible :help: .

My math and science background helped me.But the "J O B" paid $400 a week and was an advance on future commissions.

so there are a lot of factors, and you have to live with a certain degree of unknowns - it's not an exact science.

By age six or so we were sufficiently fluent in language that we could go to school and understand the teachers, our fellow students, etc.Similarly, few successful investors remember their initial struggles to understand the language, the concepts, the subtle art and fine science of real estate: negotiations, deals and transactions.Only a very few of us are natural teachers - able to understand how others learn and able to tailor our language, presentation, modality, etc. to suit each individual.