Everything else from attorneys, when in contract with real estate agent , bank vp, title company, or insurance agent is almost all e-mail.As you can see from this comment I tend to be thorough ( or like to ramble, which ever you prefer) but I feel It is important to be clear.

That's where I would start.Then ask everyone you know who does real estate in your area (hopefully there will be some response from local investors on this thread), try to get Home Depot to give you the names of some of their installers (they tend to make good handymen in my experience), visit your local REIA, stop by job sites as you're driving past and if the work looks good, get a card from the contractors, and as a last resort, start scouring Craigslist.You only need to find one great contractor.

Sold comps within a quarter mile no more than 6 months old are really a better reality check than an appraisal (especially a re-fi appraisal....those tend to go high).So if by comping the property you determine the property to be worth 160k, then at a minimum, do the following:160,000 x 70% = 112,000 - 10,000(or whatever your fee should be) = 102,000 = MAO (maximum allowable offer).

Yes, women do tend to be more creative minded.

If you have a billion dollars that you HAVE to spend, you tend to overpay.

Vacant land does tend to get higher rates and the lien amounts can be low since the land is unimproved.I did not have such good luck in Coconino this year.

It's not quite the same as active real estate investing, but it's been a great opportunity to learn about some of the nuts and bolts of the rehab process.

The capital gains generally tends to be higher in more desirable areas, especially where land is limited.So as an investment, a low yielding piece of real estate dis not always completely irrational as an investment and personally, I am a strong believer that in todays market with so much information at our finger tips, prices and percentage returns and yields tend to be a good reflection of risk.Just my opinion base don my investment style.

Find something,anything that is a violation of the lease to start eviction if you can.When you go in front of a judge in eviction court they will ask the tenant if they gave you something in writing.You have to swear in front of the judge to tell the truth.If you don't the judge can throw you in jail.We find tenants say lot's of things but when they are under oath most will not lie.They might try to omit certain info but the judge pulls the truth out of them quickly (within a few minutes).Some judges are more sympathetic to tenants and others more to property managers and landlords.It depends if you are the first or last case of the day and how that day has gone for the judge.If he is not authorized to have a pet you can evict based on that.If the apartment complex doesn't care and they are driving you nuts then go work at another complex that doesn't handle their business that way.One thing is for sure I wouldn't let them abuse me.

I tend to make every deal an adventure.