This last run saw many individuals that knew absolutely nothing about RE swinging for the fences on res. deals.

Absolutely.

Homes are being built and sold left and right and I've absolutely seen people who've been living in their homes for only 3-4 yrs and decided to sell their house for the equity.

Yes, I absolutely agree.

If you can do it yourself then absolutely.

For investors, the ablity to accuratly read market data and sales comps or to understand the ends and outs of several different loan programs (and how they can work for the different investment situations) are absolutely necessary for surviving in this business.

I'm going through it for the 2nd time now and it's absolutely awesome for a beginner.

And how after all the years it was now rewarding them substantially.Also after the whole dot.com stock craze of the recent years, real estate (which you can actually see and touch) was a much more slower and tangible investment option.Would I do things differently after 3 years in the game, absolutely.

At least a couple years ago when I researched it, there was absolutely no case law supporting it.I think its RESPA 2608 that states the buyer has the right to choose the title company, and the seller is liable for up to 3 times the price of the title policy if they don't allow the buyer to choose.Most people including realtors don't know or follow this law.

MarkY,Your location has absolutely nothing to do with the mathematics of operating rental properties.