The fishing is great!

Again, based on a food-service environment, the pest company will usually set up an automatic dispenser to feed "quaternary ammonia" into the drain to kill the larvae.

For the past two years, we have looked forward to gaining access to the pond so we can fish and enjoy the surroundings.

Like shooting fish in a barrel!

And you're right, Joel, and a realistic assessment of the value of the land must be done, considering the current environment.

We've been looking to find a duplex with two homes on a lot, and the environment is very competitive at this moment: at lower price points (625K max) only considering very nice streets in Hollywood/Northeast Los Angeles, with at least 1400sf for the owner unit and a decent lot (5000sf+).

Appraisers in today's environment can be rather conservative on valuations.Flipping a 1400 sqft 3 bd 2 ba brick ranch on a street with 50 more just like it, in a neighborhood of 500 more cookie cutter homes might be a little boring but there isn't any mystery about what your ARV will be unless the market really moves before you sell.

If anyone has a problem with you making a profit, then move on to the next house -- there are plenty of fish in the short sale ocean.The seller does not get money -- but they get relief, closure, and a chance to restore their credit in 2-3 years as opposed to 7 years in a foreclosure.

Those give me a high volume of incoming leads however a small percentage are motivated sellers.I also do penny saver adds with we buy house, those are being evaluated as well because I get a lot of calls from rural areas with folks looking to dump junk trailors and I politely turn those down.I am in search of sub2 deals and I also use word of mouth from relationships with homeowners, if I cant get an option on the homes I pass them to my wife who takes the owner finance listing.Finally I do a craigslist campaign for owner finance buyers, this keeps the phones ringing as well but many buyers are unloyal and seem to be fishing for something for nothing however I keep a steady flow to choose from I just need to get just as many homes to sell to them owner finance.I am curious to find out a ball park figure most spend on direct mail, SEO search engine optimization and other techniques mention in this thread.I really feel that relationship building is the key ingredient and if I can hangout with bankers then I think my network will = my networth.

Many are also using this current environment for buy and hold with prices being so low.