Then, I would take the courses, get licensed, and sign up with a good low-pressure broker that offers lots of education or guidance without eating up all your money.  

Hi how's it going,I'm from the Tri-State area and want to invest in multifamily properties.Obviously, I'm not looking to throw away money, and need to understand the market before jumping in.What's the best way to gauge the market and learn about deals etc?

If done prudently, higher leverage does result in higher returns, and lower leverage results in lower blood pressure.

NEW BUILDS - If storage demand is strong, & lots of open land avail, could be easy for another co to build new facilities = downward price pressure, customer churn.

They said $600 but my RE agent says she doesn't normally look at this area and can't give good gauge on risk or rent # but there is obviously risk involved.

Well hopefully they realize they wont find a better offer and they feel some pressure with that cash offer. 

As far as illegal AirBnB rentals, I think most cities are over reacting due to pressure from the hotel lobbies and NIMBYists who probably never knew their was a short term rental in their neighborhood before they looked it up on one of the marketing sites.I'm not opposed to regulation but right now, short term rental owners have to navigate a regulatory mine field in many cities that seems to change by the hour.

Those with homes on the market start to feel pressure to get it done before their kids go back to school and/or a large chunk of the family-with-school-age-kids buyer pool stops their home search until next summer or at least puts it on pause until the school year hits its stride.

Don't use the calendar to gauge occupancy.

While there are a few preliminary inspections for underground work, sewers, etc, the pre board inspection is the 'big one' in terms of the amount of work to be reviewed all at once.Here is a list of what is inspected at the pre board phase: Electrical - all wiring in the house is exposed and can be examined easily by the inspectorPlumbing - drainage, venting, water lines and other elements are looked atGas - a pressure test is shown to the inspector to show the connections are not leakingFireplace - the install and mainly the venting of the fireplace is inspectedMechanical - the furnace, ductwork and return air installation is reviewedBuilding - the structure, engineered work, soil bearing report and sulphate test, radon gas penetrations, fire barrier and many other minor items can be reviewed hereThis multitude of inspections can be helpful to identify any of the countless mistakes or omissions the builder can encounter during the construction process.