Even the best professionals in REI (or in any industry) have had their share of failures, and great lessons have been learned from them.

Hi Stephen,If you're talking in reference to secured RE notes the industry will always exist as long as there's RE and mortgages. 

All of my adult working life I've been stuck and complacent in the customer service/retail/sales industry (not the rewarding kind of sales).  

There just aren't that many duplexes, triplexes, and fourplexes in my home market and those that are here are sky high due to the rebounding oil industry in Midland, TX which makes this market behave like a boomtown.

Also for local hard money I might suggest  @Bob Green  I have met with him personally there in Chicago.. he knows the industry..

We have been pushing for more licensing to remove the one time realtor / managers from screwing up our industry and profession of choice.  

I would also recommend focusing on a specific segment of the industry -- i.e. discount retail, fast food, banks, drugstores, etc. -- and farming that within a few dynamic trade areas across the country, as opposed to taking a "shotgun" approach and trying (likely futilely) to master everything.  

You can also go down to the assessor's office, type in the address or apn, and view the title history (take a smart phone and just take pictures of the computer screen).  

I have been involved in various areas of construction for over 20 years, with the last 5 being primarily spent as a project manager in the temperature control (HVAC) industry.

Type - If you're investment is residential you can move it into industrial, commercial, raw land, etc.