Ya just gotta learn how to listen to their words and interpret what they say.You have two ears and one mouth: LISTEN at least twice as much as you speak.

If you'd like to PM me, please feel free to do so and I'd be glad to do what I can, or at least discuss some of the things I dealt with starting out, some of which ring similar.

You might want to ask what type of birds...large macaws destroy wood work and drywall if they can reach it....and Conures are ear-splittingly loud...

It was a small bathroom about 45 sq ft of actual flooring.It included ripping out 3-4 layers of flooring/wood, due to a failed wax ring, that was moldy, and crappy.Installation of a new wax ring,  laying a new subfloor of 2X4, then laying the plank flooring, and the trim/quarter round. 

Does the real estate store ring a bell?  

I don't have cash coming out of my ears like you. ;) In my post I mentioned how all-cash buyers in Charleston are beating everyone to the punch.

I'm having a difficult time assessing the articles about Cleveland's declining population and overall low % of college graduates vs. articles like this touting the strength of the health care sector and potential for economic rebound.I would posit that one of the more beneficial things the city and most importantly inner ring suburbs (as city schools have a very poor reputation) can do is to continue to tear down abandoned housing.

Ultimately, I think your point does not fall on deaf ears.

Nope - it´s all on my US tax return.Like a mortgage broker told me: he tried "every angle" to fit my situation into "the system", meaning Fanny Mae and Freddy Mac don´t like my situation.Sure, at the moment I´m working with a bank that also offers inhouse loans (aka portfolio loans), but it still irks me that "the system" seems to be so highly automated that no human with a brain between their ears could look at an application and decide that someone might be good for a loan, although he or she doesn´t "fit into the system".I don´t have a real question for you guys, I guess I just wanted to let some steam off...Happy investing!

New wax ring fixed it.