Brandon Turner thanks, I hope to need the help sooner than later ;)

It is not "dont help them" it is do not help anyone who is just going to continue to do that which put them in the position to need that help

I am sure you can not say that you have successfully closed 100% of short sale transactions so this scenario must have come up before.By the way,in debates back and forth such as this, nobody can see facial expressions or tones of voice, it is just text, as such, sometimes misunderstandings take place and I wanted to be clear that I am enjoying our converstaion back and forth, I am not attempting to argue with you.

You really have to watch your tone of voice and how you ask the question.

Your tone implies you're throwing the blame on companies like mine for "higher costs".

You're going to need some significant cash coming in to be able to buy properties and I don't see where you have that laid out in your mini-business plan.More realistically, you'll create a nice little nest egg to augment your existing income and then in 10 to 20 years live off of your real estate investments (sooner if the market goes through another bubble and you're able to sell, later if it doesn't).

But, he did contact me privately, and the tone was both less confrontational and less argumentative than you'd think...lolOn the other hand, I think I see smoke coming out of you on both ends - no need - I understand it's hotter than hell in SF as is!

It sounds like the POF isn't worth the paper it is printed on and explains the tone of the rest of the thread.

Something practical, so that you learn skills you're going to need if you get into real estate investing.Right now, before you get a job, call the creditors and explain you got laid off.  

The only thing that is going to need replaced in the next 5 - 10 years is the HVAC which I said earlier is roughly 5k expense after talking to the guy that services it for us.