If you see an adjusted declining per capita income you need to carefully consider the long term value of the investment.No or limited urban sprawl - In every metro area I've seen there are areas that were once prime areas and over time become distressed areas.

I wonder if this is occurring because inventories have declined and the recovery departments are either looking to increase their revenue recovery or move slow assets.

If anything, the 2 they declined are actually assessed way over market. 

They can tell you the best areas to invest in and what area is declining in an way.  

You also run the risk, granted decreasing as time goes on, that there could be damage in excess of the remaining deposit and they could walk and you are in no better position.Just explicitly state in the lease that the ETF is one month of rent or if you prefer, have it declining over time that the lease has been in place.For an overview from the state of the relevant laws:http://www.dca.ca.gov/publications/landlordbook/ca...Two books I found helpful is Leigh Robinson's book http://www.landlording.com and Nolo's Tax Deduction guide for Landlords.

He met with his other buyers to decline their offer (mine was better), drove to my office and we signed the assignment contract.

Of course, I have declined. 

If it is not the right price to list, I would unfortunately decline the listing.

With projected low prices on oil for the next 6 to 12 months and the just announced layoffs and shutdowns in oil field services and leasing will North Dakota continue to be a high growth state.Another one is that Michigan is just now reversing population decline that ran unabated since 2000.

Overall, you want to invest in a market moving in the right direction versus stagnation or declineI like the market to have a diversified set of industries / employees - that way if one industry declines in the future or a company goes out of business or moves it doesn't depress the city (think of upstate NY when Kodak when out of business)I like purchase prices to be more reasonable and closer to $100,000 for the median property price.I like a city that has a relative high percentage of the population that rents so I know there is a large and vibrant rental pool.