I suspect is is particularly common to big onsite auction houses that cater to banks etc.

Plus, you could deduct business expenses, like gas, some food, home-office shared bills, formation expense, etc.

You may find a RMLO with good salesmanship skills and who has an imagination, they may strike off doing things they have no knowledge of but cater to investor needs.

I am from NYC (downtown Manhattan)I am completely new to the investing arena.I am not planning on investing in my local area but am looking for an area to invest in.My challenges are the following:1- I am looking for a niche with a high return (my goal is to cover my expenses, fund my current business (I'm in the food business) and have passive income for later in life.

It is 5 minutes into the game, I am enjoying the first few sips of my first beer and some food when my phone rings.  

Go to you tube, I know there are a few sites that cater to real estate agents or those wanting to become real estate agents and a few that I looked at had some good real estate math coverage.I was lucky and had a few good teachers during my school years that taught me well, which was quite a trick because I showed up for class but my brain was usually some where else, especially if it was a math or english class.

SO....now I'm working on that note....with the recent slowdown in the energy industry, I'm hoping it'll take me about a year or 18 months to pay off my home, and at that time, I'll allow myself to go into the office (either project management or people management), and work on getting my funding together again for another go at REI - should not take too long with no other expenses besides taxes, food, gas, and misc. 

If you buy diesel fuel or eat food, part of that money you spend is coming to me.  

Real Estate is great because its malleable and each market caters to different needs. 

Does anyone know of any or want to connect over some food?