NY Times did a piece (video) about the banking situation:http://www.nytimes.com/video/business/100000003491...There is an effort to create a credit union specifically for this industry, but seems to be going nowhere.  

My best piece of advice is don't feel like you need to use someone local to you.

She said counter-top is the first piece and everything is picked to match that.

The giveaways are the age of the roof (that may be included in the MLS listing and, if not, the County or City building dept should have the previous roofing permit on file so you can find the age that way), leaks anywhere inside the house, wear and tear, melting or warped end caps (the pieces that wrap around the edges on comp roofs), missing shingles and eave damage.

( the reason i ask is because i found a piece of property held in trust but there was an open probate case for the decedent who was the trustee for that trust ).Thank you

On the flip side, if you had $1M, took out a 75% LTV mortgage, you could potentially buy yourself a $4M piece of real estate with fairly good returns. 

If so, you are possibly one of the hottest resources in REI—an investor-friendly GC.

Upon visiting the property, I was horrified to learn that I had purchased a piece of land with a dilapidated house on it.

I’ve been involved in the Charleston marker for a couple of months now, and I’m trying to pick up bits and pieces as I go along.

It's better to know all the info than piecing everything together afterwards.