For example, when I had a dozen deals under my belt I had a sufficient track record to attract people who already knew me to invest with me.

Boring, safe....but who wants someone standing on the corner during tax time dressed in a costume to attract customers?

The market will offer plenty of trading opportunities which must be taken advantage of, if you want to secure a decent return.All in all, deflation is ugly and not conducive to attractive investment returns.

Whose wife is pretty darn attractive herself.

see what I mean, not so attractive is it?

Short sale transaction is about to get it correctly done and especcialy negotiated to the amount so it will be attractive to resale in this market.

The more you buy, the better your financial condition and the more attractive you are to the banks.Mike

AND: my wife's family is here and we would have a good network to help us get started.2nd choice: Northern or Central NJ -- many of our closest friends live in the NY/NJ/Philly area, I spent 7 years living in NJ and the proximity of NYC makes NJ a really attractive place for us to live.

I'd leave out the bar-hopper comment, you might attract excessive partiers who skip work and can't pay their rent.Also, it's good that you mention a background check, but you need to list how much that will cost them.

I use guys that work for window companies but are happy to freelance on the weekend.