who has run with this idea- they are getting OTHER people to put the decals on their window, with a bonus paid to that person for any deal that comes through them.

Taxes are what they are, an expense that should be built into the rent creating a level playing field for all landlords.  

I am going to play devils advocate on your thought process of cheaper money compared to local HML.Crowd funding will make a little dent.. but its very very hard to take customers away from their existing lenders.

Hey there Detarus, coincidentally or not, I just read about you in a basketball article, you're playing some Pro-Am at the Courts, right?

Will be interesting to see how this plays out. 

It's just part of the game, if you decide to play.  

In fact it's a rather lovely LTV rate for the lending institution, very secure for them.For a primary residence I wouldn't monkey around with the value play too much. 

Here is a cool link that allows you to play around with your mortgage rate.  

Track down an engineer that is familiar with the area, play detective kinda fun.

There are opportunities, if you can play at that level.Less expensively, you can look at Danbury, CT; Albany, NY; Dutchess county; northern Westchester.I'm also considering the Berkshires and Eastern CT.