I am betting it is tougher to find good deals here in ca compared to va.

.), or that they will just build a wall around our property and finish converting and developing the land around us into commercial entities.We said we were fine with them building around us (with the bet that we will be bought out at our price eventually (possibly even higher due to the fact that pretty much everything around us will be commercial property and generating revenue (restaurants/mall/stores/etc...))).Now I'm asking, if you were in our shoes, what would your game plan be?

I'm willing to bet we have a lot of IT people here.Good luck!

Your best bet is to make a trip to the Public Services Building downtown and speak to the Building Department Counter.

You need cooling for 8-9 months of the year I bet. 

You do have to keep your eye on the long term, while mitigating risk and hedging your bets in the short term ... and that takes skill, capital, and patience.

I found the Butte County Assesor's web site, but which report do I need to see what Liens exist against the property?

Look at their profile and then do a little digging.Do they have a web presenceDo they put their contact information on their profileIf you call them and leave a message, do they call you backDo they just have a gmail or yahoo email or do they work for a companyAre they Pro members vs. free And a big one is do they ask for money up front for their services (application fee) vs. just getting the appraisal and credit report covered.Truthfully, I think it's harder to find out if an investor is legit as opposed to lenders/brokers, but I understand how, with all the lenders/brokers out there, they can be difficult to weed through.Good luck,Stephanie

you don't want to be tied into those big payments when something goes south, and you can bet it will. 

Your best bet, may be like Bob suggests, is to sell a partial for now until you get further seasoning.