One of my customers went to them for help, and he asked for references, and they said they don't provide them, but he still went through them, and he said 10 days later he had 12 inquires on his personal credit, which tanked his score and no loan.Joe Gore

There close to down town, bus lines an art school, restaurants its a popular area.Would the best move after the refinance, to hold them until they reach the $120,000 value, then do a 1031 and move on to something different?

Contract for Deeds or Land Contracts were the most popular method of doing installment deals, but due to the new laws and issues around unlawful foreclosures I' m not seeing much use for them now, without major modifications to the point that they really wouldn't be seen as the old CFD.

Additionally, most title companies in my areas now use freelance notaries for in-office loan doc signings and charge the customer a "signing" fee in addition to the notary charges.I still do some deeds and docs without title insurance and can then use my notary of choice.

We have lots of spots that are popular with Realtors for coffee or a beer.If they find that you've done a few deals, you might just get a cease and desist letter, if they see you're in the business and doing sizable transactions you might get some bracelets. :)

While exploring feasible options, I grew intrigued by the growth and seemingly exponential popularity of this concept.  

(when we don't have paying customers).Most of our money is tied up in Mutal Funds.

I could not find Duplexes in my searches, maybe they are not too popular in this area.

I understand appraisers that just sit at a desk, look at pictures and an MLS may not have a clue as to the social aspects, market trends or popularity of some neighborhood, they have no clue as to what school district might be favored.

You might want to read this info, http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Gramm–Leach–Bliley_Act and specifically scroll down to the section titled "Consumer vs. customer defined".