If you 1099 the money, they have to pay taxes on it ... so it will be a good litmus test for you to see how your contractor(s) react.Also, it may not be the worst idea to create a business entity of some kind ... eventually, it could make your taxes a little easier to manage (so you don't have to do one enormously scary tax return)Edit: try to find a CPA that is familiar with REI, that will make questions like this easy to answer in the future.

There are many debates on BP about the Bay Area, and when going into any purchase the ultimate test is deciding if it fits your long-term plan.The San Jose market and Oakland have the spectrum of duplexes.

As long as your internet is fast (go to www.speedtest.net and click the "Play Button" to test it.

"The Millionaire Next Door"  may be one that interests you as well, it debunks through test studies what makes a true millionaire and explains how many around us who may appear to be a millionaire are actually not nearly close to where they could be financially.  

Using Vancouver as a data point to justify Toronto'a comparatively calm market is self rationalization.Yes, the divergence of real estate prices to the underlaying economy may continue for a few more years and, if folks are fortunate, it will gear down slowly on its own with only a small retrenchment in prices.  

The data on credit reports is not primary or even secondary – it is tertiary.

During this time there are mid term tests that must be passed.

You migh want to check out some of the podcasts on my site where I talk about how to analyze a market and also the one with Jeff Pinkerton from Metro Insight who talks about where to find the data.

The HOA Transfer Fee fails this test.

This of course led to an increase in the value of my computer data, which is now protected by layers of paranoid backup.