Welcome Damian,I'm in NO too, and in the oil/gas business, as well as real estate investment.  

Try to stay around positive and optimistic people they will tend to look for solutions as some will just bring out and highlight the problems in a market.Houston is experiencing great positive growth in their luxury home market.In Houston you can get a decent read on the Real estate market by what goes on with the oil industry.I pray you have a prosperous career. 

The oil industry has caused the population to more than double in the past five years.

We don't have millions in liquid assets yet, but we do have property in different states, have lost our umbrella due to unforeseen circumstances (too many car accidents, even though none were our fault -- drunk driver totaled my son's car, policeman hit my daughter's rear end, a driver hit our car in a parking lot and the car dealer's employee during an oil change drove a new car into 4 parked ones, ours being one of them, end of umbrella plan).

I own an Oil & Gas Software company here in Houston but have always wanted to get into all sorts of real estate.

Oil patch affects the vacancy.  

(oil industry exposure... lower property values... smaller town, but commuting distance from bigger city...

If an annual rental would pay $1200/mo, a winter rental would pay $2400/mo & a summer 1200/wk. the winter rental is great b/c you can't rent weekly in the winter (it's mainly weekends, other than school vaca) and they would pay utilities, which is a huge expense in the oil-reliant north country.But...

Yep, all simply snake oil salesmen.

I graduated a year ago from Texas A&M University, and took a job in the Oil and Gas Industry.