Many days, people who lived in the neighborhood would stop by and ask how I made the grass so green or where I was finding all the trees, bushes, and flowers.

Any and all online outlets are crucial, especially Craigslist and Zillow.

This board, meet ups, and other outlets are a great way to meet people with whom you can build a mutually beneficial relationship, with the benefit to you (hopefully) being the furthering of your REI education and gaining some training in your strategy/strategies of interest. 

Water their flowers.

brian,did not read all the posts, but here's my take..my houses (even my house) are build from the 1952-1961, so i know what you are talking about. i have cast iron sewer and HAD galvanized pipes for the supply. no ground wire on any outlets unless it;d been touched in the last 20 yrs.i dont worry about a thing. i have done all kinds of stuff at home electcical wise and never had a problem with it. i even have a 3 prong outlets when i should have just 2 and never had a problem. in the houses i am required to put 2 prong outlets which are 6 times more expensive. this drives me crazy. the circuit would trip before anything happens. these things are so over designed even for the time they were built. cast iron sewer - Can't speak for texas, but we NEVER had problems. unless it's clay, cast iron will last 1000 yrs. galvanized pipes - we have basements and i change all that stuff myself. i put pex, spend $300 for materials and am done in 1 day. so, even though i am in the same situation with you, because we have basements and no foundation settling (i know about the foundation repairs you guys have to do over there) , i can sleep well at night without a problem.

Thanks Daniel Hornsby get in contact with me and maybe I can help you out! Lets

did he change out outlets and switches or new service?

@Ivy Flowers You touched on it by mentioning kids.

But the cost on that is about $2000.Do you swap out EVERY light switch and outlet to make it universally match and cohesive or leave some of the old ones and just update kitchen and baths outlets and switches etc? 

I live in Flower Mound, Tx 75028.