Until backpage really takes off craigslist may be the best unpaid exposure you can get.Craigslist can also be a decent source for acquisition leads, sellers in a tough spot tend to also have a small marketing budget.

So here's my question to you -What is your biggest stumbling block(s) and challenge that you're coming across when breaking into the "Real Estate Investing World"?

There are 500k sub-prime loans out there right now 41% of them are in default with late payments not to mention all the forclosures,and there are 700k Alt-A laons 54% of all of them were cash out refi the biggest contributor to loan defaults are negative equity my question is who sets the values on these homes are there any appraisers here that can give us the answer or is it the slow economy thats doing it and if so than its everyones fault that this is happening any opinions ?

Its that last transfer that will get you into trouble if the lender does not know its occurring.If you have the cash to fund the downpayment and rehab, or can get it from some other source, that's the best way.Gregor's right.

Being able to fix problems that others don't know how to deal with can be a major source of profit in your real estate business.

My biggest issue is that ANYTHING can happen in 6 mos and then what if they cannot buy the house, and we are back in the same situation as before, with more possible repairs.On the opposition, it is taking the books off the books for now with the possibility of selling the house at list price and make decent money on it even with all of the problems we had.Any tips, ideas, suggestions for this situation?

Of course the question is, "what are you using now, and why wouldn't you leave them.BTW, craigslist is an excellent source for very cheap, late model, often upscale appliances.all cash

I would think the biggest thing you may have to worry about is pirates which really they are not really a problem in the Caribbean (unless you are Jack Sparrow :P ).

3) In another source I read, the author recommended that you put enough properties in each LLC to total $200,000 - $300,000 and pursue a commercial loan using those properties.

I understand that brokers are a great source of deals.