That way you will at least keep your head in the game, note future neighborhoods to invest in (or not invest in) for yourself and possibly learn some good valuable information from the investor you could be bird dogging for.

As a kid that grew up similar in that we got paid to work at home, kept accounting ledgers of money in and out and became entrepreneurial in nature looking for "business" in the neighborhood I don't think there is anything to worry about.

Now if you go to an auction in a $100K neighborhood and you expect an investor to pay $50K at the auction and you are the only one there and you can get it for $5K, ignore everything I said and buy it.

I'm not as familiar with the city as many are on here, I've always used other people's knowledge, but you can get a lot of help on these forums as far as best neighborhoods, etc.

This duplex is in a good neighborhood, probably 8 out of 10max.Good (9 out of 10max) K-8 school.In better parts of CA, I think it is hard to get 10 cap.

In my immnediate neighborhood, a 2 br goes for about 700-750/month.

Buying newer homes in nicer neighborhoods gives a much stronger chance for strong appreciation.

When it comes to getting rid of neighborhood drug dealers or unsavory activity that affects your investment, I like Rule #15: Always work as a team.For various (often silly) reasons, we shy way from working with neighboring landlords and property owners.

So the entry level OO buyer and the move-up OO buyer is paying more this month than 6 months ago in many neighborhoods where I am.It looks to me like this could go on for a long time.

I've got 2 sales pending for clients right now that fit into that 2% category, a duplex pending for about 70% of list after only 3 weeks on the market (because the listing agent screwed up on pretty much all the numbers, and everyone else is apparently waiting for him to drop the price before they submit an offer), and a SFR listed at $279,900 -- the only house for sale in a super-desirable little neighborhood of 36 homes -- we now have pending for $195K, but only because we were intimately familiar with and helped shape the story.As an agent, Yes it's my job to get my clients the properties they want, but it's also my job to avoid wasting ridiculous amounts of theirs and my own time chasing no-chance deals.