My parents are small investors but they are in Colorado so their connections don't help me here in Wisconsin.I am looking to learn as much as I can and meet people in and around Madison.

Conglomerate Delek Group (DELKG.TA), the parent of Delek Drilling and Avner, is up 5.9 percent.

It's all local.I wish my college area would fall, but there seems to be an endless supply of rich parents or 'investors' betting on appreciation who are willing to pay up.

As a child I went to 6 different grade schools because my family traveled to seek opportunity.

It can be a real time-waster and energy-drainer.Prepare an iron-clad lease and get the parents to either sign the lease or sign a notarized Parental Guarantee.

If it was not so scary for the safety of the child, it would be funny!

My credit score right now is around an 800, and my parents are successful in the rental business by already paying off the mortgage for their rental houses.

I am not there so I shall keep quiet next time.Make sure your package has everything the bank needs: usually a form from their website listing their expenses and income, 2-3 months of recent pay stubs and bank statements (more is better as it will take a while for a file to run its course), child support if it is being included in their income to show affordability, social security or pension income if it is being used, authorization signed by the home owner so you can speak on their behalf or they won't even speak to you, 2 or 3 years of tax returns if they are self employed and a hardship letter should be a good start.

You sound like the poster child for the "Making Home Affordable" Program that the government has instituted.

Thanks Mike C, you got me thinking a lot more about my network and it is much bigger than I sometimes realize.I am actually really lucky that both of my parents did very well for themselves so naturally our family spends a lot of time with other successful people.