My maximum of down now is really 10%, I came into this whole mortgage process being told I could do 3.5% down then long story short, I have been up to 10%.

If we discover that we have the rights to the land we are gonna try to sell them "his" portion of the yard and divide into two plats. 

In case you were uncertain about how weird Massachusetts law can be, our licensing classes and CE courses specifically state that using the term "walking distance" or "a short walk" discriminates against people without legs.You CAN say 1/10th mile to the beach as that's an objective fact. 

SHORT-TERM & LONG-TERM

So glad you re-discovered Bigger Pockets.A few tips that may be helpful to you here on the Bigger Pockets website as you build your portfolio:You can set up keyword alerts so anytime someone posts about any of the markets you're evaluating, you'll be notified.

SOme short info about very specific topics:   IE- how to get a permit, how to change a toilet, etc.   ... 

Providing input for you on renting vs buying (investing) at this point doesn't help much as it really depends on your budget and short/long term goals. 

Cats are the worst pets to have short of large farm animals.

I’m a seattle native, local investor, and will be an agent shortly (taking the test in the next 2 weeks).  

I was set to close on a house today (currently in it's redemption period of foreclosure) but the appraisal last week discovered that the square footage had been listed as more than 250sf over actual, taking the price per sf from $74 to $86; still ok but not nearly the deal I thought it was.