Now I know when I look at a new area I google whether the city or township has a Rental Cert office and then I call them and chat them up to see if they have some arcane rules before I buy.

It took us years of researching, studying, taking losses, learning tactics and building relationships with neighbors & police in certain areas.

My office is in Glen Allen as well if you ever want to catch up for coffee and talk shop.Best of luck!

Hey @Paul DeckardTry your County Clerks Office.  

I can close on a 3%-4% property in other markets today in neighborhoods that do not require a police escort, and further in States where I can evict for non-payment without the nanny state telling me to wait for months on end.I'll note a few things about my political fluctuations comment:1) I am not arguing for YOU to not invest here - I do not care what YOU do. 

Let me know if I can help in any way.Chris, my office is in Annandale.  

I can also make some good loan officer and mortgage lender recommendations when your ready for pre-approval.

@Jay Hinrichs - I need to place a construction lien / mechanics lien on two properties - the local clerk's office was not overly helpful.

Hi all, What do you look for when doing research at your county offices?

I both broker and direct lend as appropriate (licensed mortgage broker, official job title is loan officer, I really don't care what you call me, but Russell here would probably call me a mortgage broker), so I've got no reason to be biased on this subject.If either channel was always the best, the other channel would have gone out of business years ago.