PS, stocks don't seem appealing to me right now, it seems like the market is going crazy up and down based on oil and unstable Asian trends.

However soon the stock market will top and the stagflation will set in, thats when it will be wise to pull out before everyone else does (or at least put my money back into RE, gold, oil and other commodities that appreciate with inflation).

How long is oil/gas in this particular area of ND supposed to flow?

If it makes you feel any better, I can't image any scenario where this could have made you any money...unless there happened to be oil or rare minerals beneath the house... :-)

I saw some books on Amazon , but was not sure which were snake oil and which would actually help some. 

I have recently moved to West Texas where the oil boom has created an opportunity for to me go into business for myself so I have started looking into the LLC and insurances required.I have researched land, home prices, and labor/material cost in the area and there is definitely a benefit to build here.

The tenant at $730 will be bumped to $950 unheated and may not stay.When I did the home inspection the heat in one of the units was set obnoxiously high, 80+ and I called the oil company who told me in the last year they provided over 3,000 gallons to the house.

Such as how soapy water, potential oil, etc. is disposed of etc.

I find the Old school wisdom and straight talk approach he dishes out much to my liking and a refreshing variation on the hucksters appearing every few years always trying to sell you the latest snake oil.

We also had a guy come and scan one property for buried tanks, about $200, we were looking for oil tanks but I think  a septic would show a buried tank whereas a well would not but maybe it depends on the material used.