The best part of a bad city is almost always the part that borders a nicer city or town or suburb.The price of everything concerned with your rental will change over a few years.

You make a very interesting point that I didn't even think about how some agents take a gamble working with people for weeks or longer to only realize that they don't have funds to close.

I've never been to Del Rio, but had a buddy that worked border patrol there years ago.

If you're going to buy foreclosures at an auction there's going to be some aspect of gambling involved.

Other investors gambled, overpaid, negatively cash flowed, and got wiped out.

Real estate is a big lumbering elephant compared to the nimble stock market, but it's still a gamble to wait to time the market for downturns and upturns.   

Then again, maybe not...it's obviously a bit of a gamble. 

My lot borders both, therefore my question is, is there a way you can recommend that I could go about speaking to the developers of the shopping center about merging our lots in that they would allow access in and out from their property as well as me creating access from the main road.

Sure, maybe the market doesn't tank, and you don't care about cash flow, because by god Boston is so great and its nothing but upwards from here, but my preference is not to take that gamble and find higher and more predictable returns in other more accessible markets.

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