It's one thing to walk away and over to another apple vendor than it is to go through the back and forth emails.

I also buy my Apple products that way, do my Black Friday shopping, etc.  

Comparing buy & hold investing with an IRA to similar investments made with non-IRA funds is comparing apples and oranges.  

I'll have to keep that in mind, and I'll discuss with the builder to get his input (he's done this numerous times both for himself and clients, like me, as a contractor).As for the heat of the market, it really is in one of the most desirable areas of Silicon Valley, when you consider schools and commute (only 2 mi. from the new Apple campus and less than 20 minutes to just about anywhere in SV, and in the CUSD).  

Do one task at a time in each app so you can compare apples to apples.Load a property with pictures and details.Market that property.See what your marketing looks like from the public's perspective.Submit a fake application to see how easy the process is.

@Chris Mcalister  I would not follow that advice that this is like a distressed asset and you should offer less than you normally would.. as this is not the case... what Elizabeth is talking about is apples and oranges compared to buying this type of asset... what you want to do is get it into contract so you can then do your inspection and based on that you can do an inspection addendum if you need to lower price.. other wise you won't get in the game.As long as its fairly priced in the first place.. and depending on who the seller is

An example of my standard disclosure is listed below:Michael King is a licensed real estate agent (license # blah blah blah) with Blah Blah Realty. 500 blah blah street, Leominster, MA 01453. (978) 555-5555.I am ordering car magnets for my investing business.

But if you try and do an apples-to-apples ROI comparison (discounting the toy/emotion/lifestyle factor completely) it doesn't work out.Net result, I think you're on the right track. 

Equating 2008 to modern day is apples to oranges for the simple fact people were NOT QUALIFIED for the loans.Hope this makes sense and numbers are all approximate.

As with everything, compare apples to apples, and do your due diligence!