Not only do you need to buy cheaper, but you also need to be more selective and pick properties that will be desirable to others.

@Chris Elliott ,The S-election's importance will depend upon your business and YOUR tax situation.

These type of posts are a real challenge to read... because I can litterly feel the pain that the posters are going through.There are some great responses here and everyone of them should be followed... and I would like to add the following...In a world where almost everyone is focusing on REO and making offers through agents, now is a great time to be a contrarian investor.Instead of making these REO offers, it is time to dust off more conventional marketing approaches.How about driving selected neighborhoods, finding 100 distressed properties and sending letters to the owners every 6 - 8 weeks.

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I'd recommend Jeffrey Whitehead, his info is here:http://www.superlawyers.com/illinois/lawyer/Jeffrey-Whitehead/4dc97165-c84e-499d-a77b-680ba960dcaa.htmlThis database has proven useful in my area, SuperLawyers has a rigorous process in which they select the top 5% of lawyers in a state.

Visit Borders or Books a Million and scan through their selections.

In my opinion we just need to be careful not make our selection based on price only.

I live here in Az Nw corner of Phoenix and we just moved here from Co Springs sold our house in 28 days after 38 showings, anyway we found a house and Wells Fargo Approval Demand Letter last Friday and selected a “drop dead date†of June 10.

Every ethical landlord has a method for selecting tenants that profits his business while operating fairly.What percentage of potential tenants have you considered low-grade?

When I was challenged to go repeat what I had done in the 70's (because everyone said my methods wouldn't work today) I selected Texas, mostly SO.