@Jon Dixon I agree with @Chad Duval the bank is generally the best bet!

If done right in some jurisdictions, I bet you could get a judge to order him to put rent money into an escrow account for every month you are waiting on the jury trial.

I bet the first thing the advisor will want to know is if you have a plan in place or even if you know what kinds of transactions you will be focusing on.

In your market however I am sure it is different, but I would bet you will still find some amazing deals this way.Keep doing what you are doing, but never settle, always being ahead of the pack!

I've never been to court (thankfully), but being prepared and having facts is your best bet.

Let me tell you, I believe you would certainly make more money by sticking to the real estate thing than betting on the market. 

I bet a company like Whole Foods is pretty sure an area is going to grow in population and/or income before they drop a new location.Let me know if you're aware of any data sets like the ones I mentioned above.

But, money can go in the left pocket and go out of the right pocket, but they will be paying it back I'd bet.

You can do some sort of magic by not requiring them to fix things that come up in the inspection, but you'll have to fix those issues anyways.Ultimately I think if you just have everything lined up and make your first offer what you honestly want the property for, that's your best bet.

I bet just being around the young girl (with the kitten) you mentioned is a violation of his probation.